LIBRARY 


Ne 
‘S 
iS p) 
ad 
fx 
oa 
Z, 
2 


4 Willard Waggoner, 
= ~=—>——Meason, Ohio 


JOSE MARTI 


The first great apostle and martyr of the Cuban War of In- 
dependence, José Marti, was born in Havana on January 28, 1853, 
and fell in battle at Dos Rios on May 19, 1895. He was a Pro- 
fessor of Literature, Doctor of Laws, economist, philosopher, es- 
sayist, journalist, poet, historian, statesman, tribune of the people, 
organizer of the final and triumphant cause of Cuban freedom. 
He suffered imprisonment in Spain and exile in Mexico, Guatemala, 
and the United States, doing his crowning work in the last-named 
country as the vitalizing and energizing head of the Cuban Junta 
in New York. His fame must be lasting as the nation which he 
founded, wide as the world which he adorned. 


THE 
HISTORY OF CUBA 


BY 


WILLIS FLETCHER JOHNSON 
A.M., L.H.D. -— 


Author of ‘‘A Century of Expansion,”’ ‘‘Four Centuries of 
the Panama Canal,’’ ‘“‘America’s Foreign Relations” 
Honorary Professor of the History of American Foreign 
Relations in New York University 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 


VOLUME FouR 


NEW YORK 
B. F. BUCK & COMPANY, Inc. 


156 FirrH AVENUE 
1920 


Copyright, 1920, a2 
By CENTURY HISTORY CO. 
All rights reserved | 


ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL 
- LONDON, ENGLAND. 


PRINTED IN U S. A. 


CONTENTS 


CE oh-2 a) MT PRM aR Ce cM eA NCS A ee ea ean 


Cuba for the Cubans—Era of the War of Independence—Organ- 
ization of the Cuban Revolutionary Party—Vigilance of the 
Spanish Government—The Sartorius Uprising—The Abarzuza 
“Home Rule” Measure—Beginning of the War of Independence— 
José Marti, His Genius and His Work—Members of the Junta 
in New York—Independence the Aim—Marti’s Departure for 
Cuba—Association with Maximo Gomez—Death of Marti—His 
Legacy of Ideals to Cuba. 


PIA TERI LENO e ert errr ret Lak Vireo een sarah cer muNu TO) 


Aims and Methods of the Junta—Efforts to Avoid American 
Complications—Filibustering Expeditions—Contraband Messen- 
ger Service—Attitude of the Various Classes of the Cuban Peo- 
ple Toward the Revolution—No Racial nor Partisan Differences 
—The Spanish Element—The Mass of the Cuban People United 
for National Independence. 


eS EST NF RO as a ee EEL OMG ar MR RD HM RRL 


The First Uprising—Failure in Havana—Success in Oriente— 
Response of the Spanish Authorities—Superior Numbers of the 
Spanish Forces—Early Complications with the United States— 
Seeking Terms with the Patriots—Grim Reception of an Envoy 
—Ministerial Crisis at Madrid over Cuban Affairs—Martinez 
Campos, ‘“Spain’s Greatest Soldier,” Sent to Cuba—His Con- 
ciliatory Policy—His Military Preparations—Antonio Maceo— 
Uprisings in Many Places—Provisional Government of the Pa- 
triots—Campos’s Barricades—Campos Beaten by Maceo. 


LET TET YO ANGUS ARR PEMD ATT oh OOM crt EE ae AGN CAO MSS RF 


Declaration of Cuban Independence—First Constitutional Con- 
vention—The First Government of Ministers—Founders of the 
Cuban Government—Desperate Efforts of Campos—Disadvan- 
tages of the Cubans—Plantation Work Forbidden—Campaigns by 
Maceo and Gomez—Losses of the Spaniards at Sea—Reenforce- 
ments from Spain Welcomed—Cuban Headquarters at Las Tu- 
nas—Invasion of Matanzas—Defeat and Narrow Escape of Cam- 
pos—Action of the Autonomists—Loyalty Pledged to Campos— 
State of Siege in Havana—Campos Recalled to Spain. 
lii 


iv CONTENTS — 


CHAPTER }Viee ye so 


General Marin—General Weyler the New Captain-General—His 
Arrival and Remorseless Policy—Cuban Elections a Farce—The 
Trocha—A War of Ruthless Destruction—Many Filibustering 
Expeditions—Interest of the United States Government—Diplo- 
matic Controversies—Efficiency of the Provisional Government 
—Strengthening the Trocha—Activity of Maceo—His Betrayal 
and Death—Campaigns of Gomez and Others—Calixto Garcia— 
The Great Advance Westward—President Cleveland’s Significant 
Message to the United States Congress. 


Cuaptrer VI. 6. 6) ie 


Bad Effects of Maceo’s Death—Weyler in the Field Against 
Gomez—Daring and Death of Bandera—Dissensions in the Camp 
of Gomez—Weyler’s Concentration Policy—A Practical Attempt at 
Extermination—Senator Proctor’s Observations—President Mc- 
Kinley’s Message—Crisis in Spain—Weyler Recalled and Suc- 
ceeded by Ramon Blanco—Further Attempts at Reform and Con- 
ciliation—Condition of Cuba—The Revolutionists Uncompromis- 
ing—The Ruiz-Aranguren Tragedy—Organization of the Auton- 
omist Government—Attitude of the Spaniards—Visit of the 
Maine to Havana—Destruction of the Vessel—The Investigations 
—Futile Efforts of the Autonomist Government. 


CyuapTer VIET yoo eee oe oe 


The Destruction of the Maine not the Cause of American Inter- 
vention—Causes Which Led to the War—Diplomatic Negotiations 
—German Intrigue—President McKinley’s War Message—His 
Attitude Toward the Cuban People—Spanish Resentment—Dec- 
laration of War—American Agents Sent to Cuba—Attitude of 
Maximo Gomez—Supplies, not Troops, Wanted—Blockade of the 
Cuban Coast—Spanish Fleet at Santiago—Landing of the Ameri- 
can Army—Operations at Santiago—Services of the “Rough Rid- 
ers’—Naval Battle of Santiago—Surrender of the Spanish Army 
—The Armistice. 


Cuaprer VID. «0. we se eo 


Departure of the Spanish Forces from Cuba—Treaty of Peace 
Between the United States and Spain—Cuba to be Made Inde- 
pendent—The Cuban Debt—First American Government of Inter- 
vention—The Roll of Spanish Rulers from Velasquez in 1512 to 
Castellanos in 1899—Relations between Americans and Cubans— 
Disbandment of the Provisional Government and Demobilization 
of the Cuban Army—A Mutinous Demonstration—Paying Off the 
Cuban Soldiers. 


CONTENTS v 


PAGE 
DereeerEwr Ges to ad Meet oe) eonici yo hls y ta heed oD 


American Occupation of Cuba—General Wood’s Administration 
at Santiago—His Antecedents and Preparation for His Great 
Work—A Formidable Undertaking—Conquering Pestilence—Or- 
ganization of the Rural Guards—American Administration at 
Havana and Throughout the Island—Grave Problems Confront- 
ing General Brooke—Agricultural and Industrial Rehabilitation— 
Reorganizing Local Government—Triumphal Progress of Maximo 
Gomez—Unification of Sentiment Among the People—Finances of 
the Island—Church and State—Marriage Reform—Franchises Re- 
fused—The Census—Improving the School System. 


Rerrerre ke ar ee tclec stent ea LF ho et og oe eee Ue) ISS 


General Brooke Succeeded by General Leonard Wood—Favorable 
Reception of the Soldier-Statesman—A Cabinet of Cubans— 
Eificient Attention Paid to Public Education—Cuban Teachers 
at Harvard—Caring for Derelict Children—Public Works—Sani- 
tation—Port Improvements—Roads—Paving—The Heroic Drama 
of the Conquest of Yellow Fever—Work of General Gorgas—A 
Home of Pestilence Transformed into a Sanitarium—Reforms in 
Court Procedure—Cleaning Up the Prisons—The First Election 
in Free Cuba—Rise of Political Parties—Taxation and the 
Tarifi—Increase of Commerce. 


SEL ed) Fee a OM RT pee IME is ce fd 


Preparations for Self-Government—Call for a Constitutional Con- 
vention—The Election—Meeting of the Convention—General 
Wood’s Address—Organization of the Convention—Framing the 
Constitution—Debates over Church and State, and Presidential 
Qualifications—Signing of the Constitution—No Americans Pres- 
ent at the Convention—General Provisions of the Constitution 
—Relations between Cuba and the United States—Controversy 
between the Two Governments—Origin of the “Platt Amend- 
ment”—Attitude of the Cubans Toward It—Malign Agitation 
and Misrepresentation—A Mission to Washington—Final Adop- 
tion of the Amendment. 


ROTI Oe bo US Sue EO ee eee as oar FOS 204 


Text of the Constitution of the Cuban Republic—The Nation, 
Its Form of Government, and the National Territory—Cubans 
and Foreigners—Bill of Rights—Sovereignty and Public Powers 
—The Legislature—The President—The Vice-President—The 
Secretaries of State—The Judicial Power—Provincial and Mu- 
nicipal Governments—Amendments. 


vi CONTENTS 


‘PAGE 
CHapter: XETT ee a a 


Election of the First Cuban Government—Candidates for the 
Presidency—Tomas Estrada Palma Chosen by Common Consent 
—General Maso’s Candidacy—The Election—Close of the Ameri- 
can Occupation—A Festal Week in Havana—Transfer of Author- 
ity to the Cuban Government—The Cuban Flag at Last Raised 
in Sovereignty of the Island—President Roosevelt's Estimate of 
General Wood’s Work in Cuba—President Palma’s Cabinet— 
His First Message—The United States Naval Station—Reciprocity 
Secured after Discreditable Delay at Washington. 


CHAPTER XTV 2 eS OO rs 


Admirable Work of the Palma Administration—Rise of Sordid 
Factionalism—José Miguel Gomez, Alfredo Zayas and Orestes 
Ferrara—Character of the Liberal Party, and of the Conserva- 
tive Party—Conspiracy to Discredit an Election—An Abortive 
Insurrection—Pino Guerra’s Intrigues—The Rebellion of José 
Miguel Gomez—President Palma’s Unpreparedness and Incredul- 
ity—His Faith in the People—The Crisis—Suggestions of the 
American Consul-General—American Intervention sought—Ships 
and Troops Sent—Arrival of Mr. Taft—His Negotiations with 
the Rebels—His Yielding to Their Threats—Resignation of Es- 
trada Palma—Mr. Taft’s Pardon to the Rebels—Charles E. Ma- 
goon Made Provisional Governor—Estimate of President Palma 
and His Administration. 


CHAPTER XV 20 ea a er 


Mr. Magoon’s Administration—Recognition of the Liberals—The 
Offices Filled with Liberal Placeholders—Execution of Many 
Public Works—A New Census Taken—New Electoral Law— 
Proportional Representation—New Elections Held—Split in the 
Liberal Party—The Presidential Campaign—Bargain between 
José Miguel Gomez and Alfredo Zayas—General Menocal and Dr. 
Montoro—The Victory of the Liberals—Changes in Provincial and 
Municipal Administrations—Revision of Laws—Settling Church 
Claims—End of the Second Intervention. 


Cuaptrr XVI 202) a ee 


Administration of President José Miguel Gomez—His Cabinet 
Sketch of His Career—Sketch of Vice-President Zayas—Army 
Reorganization—New Laws—The President’s Sensitiveness to 
Criticism—Officials in Politics—Charges of Profligacy and Cor- 
ruption—Clash with the . Veterans’ Association—The United 
States Interested—Quarrels between Gomez and Zayas—Formida- 
ble Negro Revolt Suppressed—Reluctance to Settle Claims—Out- 
rage Upon an American Diplomat—Amnesty Bill—The Lottery 
Established—The ‘“‘Dragado” Scandal—The Railroad Terminal. 


CONTENTS vil 


PAGE 


EREEIER ION VER oi: cs | x chi.) SIO Shun ey dey chim fies SED 


The Fourth Presidential Campaign—Candidacy and Career of 
Mario G. Menocal—His Brilliant Work in the War of Indepen- 
dence and in the Sugar Industry—Sketch of Enrique José Varona 
—Dr. Rafael Montoro’s Distinguished Career—His Diplomatic 
Services and Literary Achievements—President Menocal’s Cabinet 
—His Aims and Plans for His Administration—First Message 
to Congress—Factional Obstruction—Paying Off Old Debts— 
Trying to Abolish Gambling—The Civil Service—Controversy 
Over the Asbert Amnesty Bill—A Small Insurrection. 


SBAPTU TR: OOV LEE Sct ah aaron cre el ra ee ee SOS 


Reelection of President Menocal—Features of the Campaign— 
Liberal Conspiracy to Invalidate the Election by Revolutionary 
Means—Disputed Elections—The Double Treason of José 
Miguel Gomez—Outbreak of a Carefully Planned Insurrection— 
Intrigues of Orestes Ferrara in the United States—Vigorous Mili- 
tary Action of President Menocal—American Assistance Wisely 
Declined—Capture of the Rebel Chieftain—Efforts of the Insur- 
gents at Devastation—Continuance of the Rebellion by Carlos 
Mendieta—Dr. Ferrara Warned by the American Government— 
Attempts to Assassinate President Menocal—Clemency Shown to 
Criminals—Attitude of the United States Government—Some 
Plain Talk from Washington. 


ESE MENS ONCE lin oo) Sn a aie ah Ss a feet ate ea) gs Coat OP 


Cuba’s Entry into the War of the Nations—President Menocal’s 
War Message—Prompt Response of Congress—Sentiments of the 
Cuban People—German Propaganda—Attitude of the Church— 
Liberal Intrigues with Germans—Seizure of German Ships— 
Conservation and Increased Production of Food—Military Serv- 
ices—Generous Subscriptions to Liberty Loans—Mrs. Menocal’s 
Leadership in Red Cross Work—Noble Activities of the Women 
of Cuba—Moral and Spiritual Effect of Cuba’s Participation in 
the War. 


MEITAPTER. OOK Fahne, Lette SL Se cen cere an eh ent oe S5 


Marti’s Epigram on the Revolution—How It has been Fulfilled 
by the Cuban Republic—The Sense of Responsibility—Progress 
in Popular Education as a Criterion—Great Gain in Health— 
Enormous Growth of the Sugar Industry—Commerce of the 
Island—Stable Finances—Sanitary Efficiency—Military Reorgan- 
ization—Statesmanship of President Menocal—Cuba’s Unique 
Situation Among the Countries of the Globe—Significance of the 
Record Which She has Made from Velasquez to Menocal. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FULL PAGE PLATES 
José Marti 


The Prado 

Maximo Gomez . 

José Antonio Maceo . 

Bay and Harbor of Havana 
Old and New in Havana 
Leonard Wood 

University of Havana 

Carlos J. Finlay 

The Capitol . - 
Tomas Estrada Palma . 

The President’s Home of 
The Academy of Arts and Crafts 
Mario G. Menocal = 
Enrique José Varona 

Rafael Montoro . 

Senora Menocal . 

Boneato Road, Oriente . 


TEXT EMBELLISHMENTS 


Ricardo del Monte 

Julian del Casal 

José Ramon Villalon 

George Reno . Pate 
La Punta Fortress, Havana . 
Aniceto G. Menocal . 
General Weyler . 

William McKinley . 


Frontispiece 


FACING 


x ILLUSTRATIONS 


Antonio Govin 

Admiral Cervera 

Admiral Schley 

Old Fort at El Caney 

Theodore Roosevelt . : 
Monuments on San Juan Hill . 
Admiral Sampson 

Peace Tree near Santiago 

Part of Old City Wall of Wayans, 
Gonzalez Lanuza ‘ 
Evelio Rodriguez Lendian . 
Antonio Sanchez de Bustamente 
Almandares River, Havana . 

Old Time Water Mill, Havana Pravine! 
Street in Vedado, Suburb of Havana 
Aurelia Castillo de Gonzalez 
Scene in Villalon Park, Havana 
Flag of Cuba 

Coat of Arms of Cuba 

William H. Taft 

José Miguel Gomez . 

Dr. Alfredo Zayas 

Birthplace of Mario G. Menecal 
Dr. Juan Guiteras Me 
General D. Emilio Nufiez 

José Luis Azcarata . 

Francisco Dominguez Roldan 
José A. del Cueto 

Dr. Fernandez Meddez Gapde 
General José Marti . 

Eugenio Sanchez Agramonte 
Academy of Sciences, Havana. . . . 


- 110 
- £20 
wil Seis 
. 113 
2 LA 
2 SES 
2 LS 
. 122 
. 146 
. 162 
«165 
. 167 
. | 168 
» He 
. 192 
. 247 
. 250 
« 2a 
. 276 
- 298 
. 300 
. 313 
. 321 
. 328 
. 341 
. B57 
. 389 
. 360 
. 360 
. 362 
. 364 


PAGgs 


95 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


CHAPTER I 


Cusa for Cuba must be the grateful theme of the pres- 
ent volume. We have seen the identification of the 
Queen of the Antilles with the Spanish discovery and 
conquest of America. We have traced the development 
of widespread international interests in that island, es- 
pecially implicating the vital attention of at least four 
great powers. We have reviewed the origin and devel- 
opment of a peculiar relationship, frequently troubled 
but ultimately beneficent to both, between Cuba and the 
United States of America. Now, in the briefest of the 
four major epochs into which Cuban history is naturally 
divided, we shall have the welcome record of the achieve- 
ment of Cuba’s secure establishment among the sov- 
ereign nations of the world. 

The time for the War of Independence was well 
chosen. ‘That conflict was, indeed, a necessary and in- 
evitable sequel to the Ten Years’ War and its appendix, 
the Little War; under the same flag, with the same prin- 
ciples and issues, and with some of the same leaders. 
Indeed we may rightly claim that the organization of the 
Cuban Republic remained continuous and unbroken, if 
not in Cuba itself, at least in the United States, where, 
in New York, the Cuban Junta was ever active and res- 
olute. The Treaty of Zanjon ended field operations for 
the time. It did not for one moment or in the least 
degree quench or diminish the impassioned and resolute 
determination of the Cuban people to become a nation. 

I 


2 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


We have said that the War of Independence was in- 
evitable. That was manifestly so because of the de- 
termination of the Cubans to become independent. It 
was also because of the failure of the Spanish govern- 
ment to fulfil the terms and stipulations of the Treaty of 
Zanjon, concerning which we have hitherto spoken. It 
must remain a matter of speculation whether that gov- 
ernment ever intended to fulfil them. It is certain that 
few thoughtful Cubans, capable 
of judging the probabilities of 
the future by the actualities of 
the past, expected that it would 
do so. We may also regard it 
as certain that even a scrupu- 
_ lous fulfilment of those terms, 
‘ while it might have postponed 
it, would not and could not per- 
\ manently have defeated the as- 

dabaclan tine teecente sertion of Cuban independ- 
ence. 

The Cuban Revolutionary Party, which as we have 
said never went out of existence, was reorganized for 
renewed activity in New York in April, 1892; from 
which time we may properly date the beginning of the 
War of Independence. Its leader was Jose Marti, of 
whom we shall have much more to say hereafter; but 
he did not accept the official headship of the Junta. 


RICARDO DEL MONTE 


Journalist, critic, poet and patriot, Ricardo del Monte was born at 
Cimorrones in 1830, and was educated in the United States and Europe. In 
Rome he was attached to the Spanish embassy. In Spain he was a jour- 
nalist with liberal and democratic tendencies. He returned to Cuba in 1847 
and edited several papers in Havana, including, after the Ten Years War, 
El Triunfo and El Pais, the organ of the Autonomists. He was a writer 
in prose and verse of singular power and grace, his works ranking in style 
with the best of modern Spanish literature. He died in 1908. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 3 


That place was taken by Tomas Estrada Palma, the 
honored veteran of the Ten Years’ War, who at this 
time was the principal of an excellent boys’ school at 
Central Valley, New York. He was the President of 
the Junta. The Secretary was Gonzalo de Quesada, 
worthy bearer of an honored name; a fervent patriot and 
an eloquent orator. The Treasurer was Benjamin 
Guerra, an approved patriot, and the General Counsel 
was Horatio Rubens. This New York Junta, meeting 
at No. 56 New Street, New York City, was the real head 
of the whole movement. But it was supplemented by 
many other Cuban clubs elsewhere. ‘There were ten in 
New York, 61 at Key West, Florida; 15 at Tampa, two 
at Ocala, two in Philadelphia, and one each at New 
Orleans, Jacksonville, Brooklyn, Boston, Chicago, At- 
lanta, and St. Augustine. There were also six in the 
island of Jamaica, two in Mexico, and one in Hayti. 

The multiplication of these organizations and their 
increasing activity did not escape the observation of the 
Spanish government, which realized that revolution was 
in the air, and that it behooved it to do something to 
counteract it if it was to avoid losing the last remains 
of its once vast American empire. Accordingly early in 
1893 the Cortes at Madrid enacted a bill extending the 
electoral franchise in Cuba to all men paying each as 
much as five pesos tax yearly. The Autonomist party at 
first regarded this concession with doubt and suspicion, 
but finally decided to give it a trial and participated in 
the elections held under the new law. But the result was 
unsatisfactory; owing, it was openly charged, to gross 
intimidation and frauds by the Government. The se- 
quel was increased activity of the revolutionary organ- 
izations. 

The Spanish government was vigilant and strenuous. 


+ THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


It sent more troops to Cuba, and it sent a large part of 
its navy to American waters, to patrol the Cuban coast, 
to cruise off the Florida coast, and to guard the waters 
between the two, in order to prevent the sending of fili- 
bustering expeditions or cargoes of supplies from the 
United States to Cuba. ‘These efforts were so efficient 
that no important expeditions got through. But in spite 
of that fact an insurrection was started in Cuba in the 
spring of 1893. 

The leaders were two brothers, Manuel and Ricardo 
Sartorius, of Santiago de Cuba. On April 24 they put 
themselves at the head of a band of twenty men and, at 
Puernio, near Holguin, they proclaimed a revolution. 
The next day they were joined by eighteen more, and 
by the time they had marched to Milas, on the north 
coast, the band was increased to 300, while other bands, 
in sympathy with them, were formed at Holguin, Man- 
zanillo, Guantanamo, and Las Tunas. This movement, 
however, was purely a private enterprise of the Sartorius 
Brothers; in which they presumably expected to be sup- 
ported by a general uprising of the Cuban people. As 
a matter of fact there was no such uprising. ‘The people 
seemed indifferent to it. The juntas and clubs in New 
York and elsewhere knew nothing about it. The Execu- 
tive Committee of the Autonomist Party in Cuba adopted 
resolutions condemning it and giving moral support to 
the Spanish government, and the Cuban Senators and 
Deputies in the Cortes at Madrid took like action. 

Meantime the Spanish authorities in the island acted 
promptly and with vigor. The Captain-General sum- 
moned a council of war on April 27, and sent troops to 
the scene of revolt, and directed the fleet to exercise re- 
newed vigilance to prevent aid from reaching the in- 
surgents from the United States. The next day martial 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 5 


law was proclaimed throughout the province of San- 
tiago de Cuba, and four thousand troops, divided into 
seven columns, were in hot pursuit of the revolutionists. 
The numbers of the latter rapidly dwindled through de- 
sertions and in a couple of days all had vanished save 
the two brothers and 29 of their followers. On May 2 
these all surrendered, on promise of complete pardon, a 
promise which was fulfilled, and on May 9 martial law 
was withdrawn and the abortive revolt was ended. 

This occurrence moved the Spanish government, how- 
ever, to further efforts to placate the Cubans, and in 1894 
the Minister for the Colonies, Senor Maura, proposed a 
bill for the reorganization of the insular government. 
The six provincial councils were to be merged into a 

‘single legislature. With this was to be combined an 
Executive Council, or Board of Administration, to ad- 
minister the laws; consisting of the Governor-General as 
President, various high civil and military functionaries, 
and nine additional members named by Royal decree. 
This arrangement was strongly opposed and finally de- 
feated, whereupon Senor Maura resigned. Later in the 
same year the Cabinet was reorganized with him as Min- 
ister of Justice and with Senor Abarzuza, a follower of 
Emilio Castelar, the Spanish Republican leader, as Min- 
ister for the Colonies. The Prime Minister was Prax- 
edes Sagasta, the leader of the Spanish Liberals, and a 
statesman of consummate ability. There was much 
complaint by Conservatives that the Captain-General in 
Cuba, Emilio Calleja, favored the native Autonomists 
over the Loyalists or Spanish party. Despite this, Senor 
Abarzuza, after taking much counsel with the Prime 
Minister and others, planned radical action in behalf of 
Cuban autonomy, hoping to establish a new regime 
which, he fondly hoped, would allay discontent, abate 


6 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


disaffection, and confirm Cuba in her traditional status 
of the “Ever Faithful Isle.” Accordingly he entered 
into long and earnest consultation with the leaders of the 
various political parties in Spain, including the Carlists 
and Radical Republicans, and also with representative 
Loyalists and Home Rulers—otherwise Spaniards and 
Autonomists—of Cuba. Never, indeed, was a more 
thorough attempt made to se- 
cure the judgment of all par- 
ties and thus to frame a mea- 
sure that would be satisfactory 
to all. Moreover, an excep- 
tionally reasonable and concili- 
atory spirit was shown by all the 
leading politicians, of all shades 
of opinion, so that it seemed for 
a time that the resulting bill, 
framed by Senors Sagasta and 
Abarzuza, would be accepted 
with scarcely a word of criticism and would mark the 
opening of a new era in colonial affairs. 

The bill was drafted. It was in purport a West 
Indies Home Rule bill. Its salient feature was the es- 
tablishment in Cuba of an Insular Council, which would 
be the local governing body of the colony. Of it the 
Spanish Viceroy, or Captain General, would be the Pres- 
ident; and of course he would continue to be appointed 
by the Crown. Of the members of the Council, one half 
would be appointed by the Crown, from among certain 

JULIAN DEL CASAL 


During his brief life, from 1863 to October 21, 1891, Julian del Casal, in- 
valid and misanthrope though he was, made a brilliant record in the world 
of letters, and gave to Cuban poetry its greatest modern impulse. Most 
of his life was spent in penury, on the meagre earnings of a hack journalist, 
se his memory is cherished as that of one of the foremost men of letters 
of his time. 


JULIAN DEL CASAL 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 7 


specified classes of the inhabitants of Cuba; and the 
other half would be elected by the suffrages of the Cuban 
people. This body would have, subject only to the veto 
of the Captain-General, control of all insular affairs, in- 
cluding supervision of provincial and municipal coun- 
cils. It would also, subject to the approval of the Madrid 
government, legislate for the regulation of immigration, 
commerce, posts and telegraphs, revenue, and similar 
matters. On the face of it the measure promised great 
improvement in the government of the island, and the 
investing of the people of Cuba with a very large meas- 
ure of self-government, both legislative and executive. 
It was the last and probably the best voluntary attempt 
ever made by Spain to give Cuba self-government. 
Unfortunately for Spain there were two fatal flaws in 
the scheme; one subjective, one objective. The former 
was the fact that the appointment of half the members 
of the Council by the Crown would assure in that body a 
constant majority devoted to and subservient to the 
Crown, and that circumstance, together with the veto 
power, would prevent the possibility of any legislation 
not entirely pleasing to Madrid. That made the thing 
quite unacceptable to all Cubans whose aim was the in- 
dependence of the island or even genuine autonomy and 
home rule. The other flaw was the fact that while Cuban 
Loyalists and Autonomists were called into consultation 
over the bill, and gave it their approval, Cuban advocates 
of Independence were not called; they would not have 
entered into conference; and they were irrevocably com- 
mitted against any scheme that did not provide for the 
complete separation of the island from Spain and the 
creation of an entirely independent government. ‘The 
bill was adopted by the Spanish Chamber of Deputies by 
a practically unanimous vote, on February 14, 1895, and 


8 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


was likewise adopted by the Senate. In Cuba it was 
regarded by the Autonomists as not satisfactory, in that 
it retained too much power for the Crown. As for the 
party of Cuban Independence, it looked upon it as un- 
worthy of serious consideration. Ten days after its 
passage by the Chamber of Deputies, the Cuban Revolu- 
tion was proclaimed. 

The reproachful comment has been made by some 
writers that the Cuban leaders started the revolution at 
that date, February 24, 1895, in order to defeat the bene- 
ficent designs of Spain in granting autonomy to the 
island, and that if they had not done so, the Abarzuza 
law would have been generally accepted and successfully 
applied, and Cuba would have remained a colony of 
Spain, contented, loyal and prosperous. For this strange 
theory there is no good foundation. It had been made 
perfectly clear for more than two years preceding that 
no such arrangement—indeed, that nothing short of com- 
plete separation from Spain—would satisfy the Cuban 
people. Moreover, preparations had been copiously 
made for the revolution, long before the passage of this 
measure. Cubans in the United States, of whom there 
were many, had contributed freely of their means for the 
purchase of arms and ammunition. There were con- 
siderable stocks of arms in Cuba which had remained 
concealed since the Ten Years’ War, and these had been 
added to by surreptitious shipments from the United 
States. It is a matter of record that considerable quan- 
tities of first rate Mauser rifles were obtained from the 
arsenals of the Spanish government, being secretly pur- 
chased from custodians who were either corrupt or in 
sympathy with the revolutionists. Efforts were also 
made to land expeditions from the United States. One 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 9 


formidable party was to have sailed from Fernandina, 
Florida, a month before the passage of the Abarzuza law, 
but it was checked and disbanded by the United States 
authorities. 

The year 1895 was not inappropriate for the beginning 
of a war which should annihilate the Spanish colonial 
empire and should add a new member to the world’s com- 
munity of sovereign nations. In almost every quarter 
of the globe great things were happening. At the anti- 
podes Japan was completing her crushing defeat of China 
and was thus bringing herself forward as one of the great 
military and naval powers. The ancient empire of Siam 
was establishing an enlightened constitutional and par- 
liamentary system of government. In Africa the epochal 
conflict between Boer and Briton was developing inex- 
orably, and France was about to achieve the conquest of 
Madagascar. In Europe, Nicholas II was newly seated 
upon the throne of the Czars, and the strange resignation 
of the Presidency by Casimir-Perier threw France into 
such a crisis as she had scarcely known before since the 
foundation of the Republic. Nearer home, Peru and 
Ecuador were convulsed with revolution, and the contro- 
versy between Venezuela and British Guiana began to 
loom acute and ominous. In such a setting was the War 
of Cuban Independence staged. 

The foremost director of that war, its organizer and 
inspirer, was José Marti; one of those rare geniuses who 
have appeared occasionally in the history of the world to 
be the incarnation of great ideals of justice and human 
right. He was indeed many timesa genius: Organizer, 
economist, historian, poet, statesman, tribune of the peo- 
ple, apostle of freedom, above all, Man. In himself he 
united the virtues, the enthusiasm and the energising vital- 


10 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


ity which his countrymen needed to have aroused in them- 
selves. To his disorganized and disheartened country he 
brought a magic personality which won all hearts and in- 
spired them all with his own irrepressible and indestruc- 
tible ideal, National Independence. 

Marti was a native Cuban, born in Havana on Janu- 
ary 28, 1853. In his mere boyhood he became an elo- 
quent and inspiring advocate of the ideal to which he 
devoted his life and which he did so much to realize; and 
at the outbreak of the Ten Years’ War, when he was 
scarcely yet sixteen years old, the Spanish government 
recognized in him one of its most formidable foes and 
one of the most efficient propagandists of Cuban inde- 
pendence. For that reason, before he had a chance to 
enter the ranks of the patriot army, he was deported from 
the island and doomed to exile. He made his way to 
Mexico, thence to Guatemala, and there, a lad still in 
his teens, became Professor of Literature in the National 
University of that country—a striking testimonial to his 
erudition and culture. After the Treaty of Zanjon he 
was permitted to return to Cuba, but he was one of those 
whom the Spanish government most feared, and he was 
therefore kept under the closest of surveillance by the 
police. It was not in his nature to dissemble, or to be 
afraid. He quickly came before the public in a series 
of memorable orations, memorable alike for their sonor- 
ous eloquence, their cultured erudition, and their intense 
patriotism; in which he set forth the deplorable state in 
which Cuba still lay, after her ten years’ struggle for 
better things, and the need that the work which had been 
so bravely undertaken by Cespedes and his associates 
should be again undertaken and pressed to a successful 
conclusion. His orations seemed to have the effect at- 
tributed to Demosthenes in his Philippics: ‘They made 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 11 


his hearers want to take up arms and fight against their 
oppressors. 

This of course brought upon him the wrath of Spain. 
He was arrested, and since he was altogether too danger- 
ous a person to be set free in exile, he was carried a close 
prisoner to Spain. But he quickly made his escape and 
found asylum in the United States of America; and there 
his greatest work for Cuba was achieved. Porfirio Diaz 
had invited him to make his home in Mexico, where he 
might have risen to almost any eminence in the state, but 
he declined. ‘I must go,” he said, ‘“‘to the country where 
I can accomplish most for the freedom of Cuba from 
Spain. Jam going to the United States.” In New York 
City, where he made his home, he engaged in literary 
work, and was for some time a member of the staff of the 
New York Sun. But above all he devoted his time, 
thought, strength and means to organizing the Cuban 
revolution. 

He gathered together in the Cuban Revolutionary 
Party all the surviving veterans of the Ten Years’ War, 
Cuban political exiles—like himself—the remnants of 
Merchan’s old “‘Laborers’ Associations,”’ and welded them 
into a harmonious and resolute whole. He also traveled 
about the United States, in Mexico and Central America, 
and in Jamaica and Santo Domingo, wherever Cubans 
were to be found, rousing them to patriotic zeal and or- 
ganizing them into clubs tributary to the central Junta 
in New York. In Cuba itself many such clubs were or- 
ganized, in secret, which maintained surreptitious cor- 
respondence with the New York headquarters. 

We have already mentioned some of those with whom 
he surrounded himself: ‘Tomas Estrada Palma, the 
President of the Junta; Gonzalo de Quesada, its Secre- 
tary, who lived to see the Republic established and to be- 


ys THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


come its Minister to Germany, where he died; Benjamin 
F. Guerra, its Treasurer; and Horatio Rubens, its Coun- 
sel, who had been trained in the law office of Elihu Root. 
Others of that memorable and devoted company were 
General Emilio Nunez, afterward Vice-President of the 
Cuban Republic; and Dr. Joaquin Castillo Duany, for- 
merly an eminent physician in the United States Navy, 
who had distinguished himself in the relief of the famous 
Jeannette Arctic expedition. These two had charge of 
the filibustering or supply expeditions which were sur- 
reptitiously dispatched from the United States to Cuba. 
At first General Nunez had charge of all, but when Dr. 
Duany came from Cuba the work was divided, and the 
former devoted himself to the coast from Norfolk to the 
Rio Grande, while the latter supervised that from Nor- 
folk to Eastport, Maine. Dr. Duany and his brother had 
been prominent citizens and officials in Santiago de Cuba. 
As soon as the War of Independence began they joined 
the patriot forces, and Dr. Duany was made Assistant 
Secretary of War in the Provisional Government. As 
such, he ran the Spanish blockade of the island, in com- 
pany with Mr. George Reno, another ardent patriot, and 
bore to New York authority from the Provisional Goy- 
ernment for the issuing of $3,000,000 of Cuban bonds. 
He also carried with him in a little satchel $90,000 in 
cash, which had been contributed by various patriotic 
residents of Cuba. 

Another of Marti’s associates in New York was Dr. 
Lincoln de Zayas, a brilliant orator, afterward Secretary 
of Public Instruction of the Cuban Republic; a man 
greatly loved by all who knew him. Dr. Enrique Agra- 
monte, brother of that gallant Ignacio Agramonte who 
was a leader in the Ten Years’ War and was killed in 
that conflict, was a member of the Junta in New York, 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 13 


who inspected and selected all the men who were to go 
on filibustering expeditions; a keen judge of the physical, 
mental and moral fitness of all the candidates who pre- 
sented themselves before him. Colonel José Ramon 
Villalon was also active in the Junta; and he has since 
been Secretary of Public Works at Havana under Presi- 
dent Mario G. Menocal. Nor 
must Ponce de Leon, a publisher 
and bookseller, of No. 32 Broad- 
way, New York, be forgotten. 
His office was frequently the meet- 
ing place of the conspirators, if so 
we may call the patriots, and he 
and his two sons—one a physician, 
the other in charge of the archives 
of the Cuban government—were 
among the most earnest and effi- sos Ramon vitaton 
cient workers for the cause of independence. 

The ideal of Marti and these associates was unequivo- 
cally that of Cuban independence. They had no thought 
of accepting or even considering mere autonomy under 
Spanish sovereignty, or any promises of reforms in the 
insular government. ‘They might not have been inexor- 
ably opposed to annexation to the United States, had op- 
portunity for that been offered. They might have ac- 


JOSE RAMON VILLALON 


José Ramon Villalon, Secretary of Public Works, was born at Santiago in 
1864. He was sent to Barcelona to be educated and later studied at the 
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., where he graduated as civil engineer in 
1899. On the outbreak of the war he accompanied General Antonio Maceo 
on his famous raid in Pinar del Rio province, and was present at the en- 
gagements of Artemisa, Ceja del Negro, Montezuelo, attaining the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel of engineers. While serving under Maceo he designed 
and constructed the first field dynamite gun, now in the National Museum 
in Havana. After the war he was made Secretary of Public Works under 
the military government of General Leonard Wood. Col. Villalon is a 
member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Institute 
of Mining Engineers, the Academy of Sciences (Havana), and the Cuban 
Society of Engineers. 


14 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


cepted it, in fact, for the sake of getting entirely away 
from Spain; for that would at least have meant inde- 
pendence from Spain. But as a matter of fact, annexa- 
tion was not considered. It was never discussed. It 
formed no part of the programme, not even as an alterna- 
tive. 

Although a poet and a seer, Marti was one of the most 
practical of men. He realized with Cicero that “endless 
money forms the sinews of war.” One of his first cares, 
therefore, was to finance the revolution. To that end he 
made a direct appeal to Cuban workmen—and women, 
too—wherever he could get into contact with them, to give 
one tenth of their weekly wages to the cause of Cuban 
independence. Probably never before or since in the 
world’s wars has such a system of voluntary tithing been - 
so successfully conducted. It seemed as though every 
Cuban in the United States responded. Wealthy men 
gave one tenth of their large incomes, and Cuban girls 
in cigar factories gave one tenth of their small wages. In 
many cases they did more, giving one day’s wages each 
week. Indeed, this is said to have been the general rule 
in the cigar and cigarette factories of the United States. 
Next to Marti himself, Lincoln de Zayas was perhaps 
the most successful money raiser. Numerous speakers 
and canvassers went to all parts of the country where 
Cubans might be found, soliciting funds. Appeal was 
also made to Americans, but not so much for pecuniary 
aid as for sympathy and moral aid. But in fact much 
money was given by liberty loving Americans. John 
Jacob Astor, afterward a Colonel in the United States 
army in the war of intervention, gave $10,000. William 
E. D. Stokes, of New York, was also a large contributor 
and manifested much interest in the cause, presumably in 
part because his wife was a Cuban. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 15 


Most of this work of Marti’s was done in 1893 and 
1894. His original plan was to launch a vast plan of 
numerous invasions of the island and simultaneous upris- 
ings in all the provinces in 1894. He purchased and ~ 
equipped three vessels, the Amadis, the Baracoa and the 
Lagonda, only to suffer the mortification and very heavy 
loss of having them seized by the American authorities 
for violation of the neutrality law. Undaunted and un- 
dismayed, he renewed his efforts, and at last had the satis- 
faction of seeing the revolution openly begun at Baire, 
- near Santiago, on February 24, 1895. And then oc- 
curred one of the most lamentable and needless tragedies 
of the whole war—indeed, of all the history of Cuba. 

It was not in Marti’s generous and valiant spirit to 
remain at the rear and send others forward to face the 
fire of the foe. Accordingly, as soon as the revolution 
was started, he went from New York to Santo Domingo 
to confer with the old war horse of the Ten Years’ conflict, 
Maximo Gomez, and from that island he issued his mani- 
festo concerning the purposes and programme of the revo- 
lution. Well would it have been for him and for Cuba 
had he remained there, or had he returned to New York, 
to continue the work which he had been so successfully 
doing. But because of a thoughtless clamor in the press 
and on the part of the public he was moved to proceed 
to Cuba with Gomez. They landed in a frail craft at 
Playitas on April 11, with about 80 companions, many of 
them veterans of the Ten Years’ War. They at once 
joined the cavalry forces of Perico Perez, and plunged 
into the thick of the fighting; Marti showing himself as 
brave in battle as he had been wise in council. Mean- 
time a Provisional Government had been formed, by the 
proclamation of Antonio Maceo, with Tomas Estrada 
Palma as Provisional President of the Cuban Republic, 


16 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Maximo Gomez as Commander in Chief of the Army, 
and José Marti as Secretary General and Diplomatic 
Agent Abroad. This appointment was agreeable to 
Marti, and would have meant the most advantageous 
utilization of his masterful talents for the good of Cuba. 
But it was not possible for him immediately to begin such 
duties. He was with the army in the interior of the is- 
land, and his approach to the coast whence he was to sail 
on his mission must be effected with caution. 

While Gomez set out for Camaguey, Marti turned to- 
ward the southern coast, intending to go first to Jamaica, 
whence he could take an English steamer for New York 
or any other destination he might select. Marti had with 
him an escort of only fifty men, and soon after parting 
company with Gomez he was led by a treacherous guide 
into a ravine where he was trapped by a Spanish force 
outnumbering the Cubans twenty to one. The Cubans 
fought with desperate valor; Marti himself leading a 
charge which nearly succeeded in cutting a way through 
the Spanish lines. But the odds were too heavy against 
them, and without even the satisfaction of taking two or 
three Spanish lives for every life they gave, the Cubans 
were all slain, Marti himself being among the last to 
fall. Word of the conflict reached Gomez, and he came 
hastening back, just too late to save his comrade, and 
was himself wounded in the furious attack which he made 
upon the Spaniards in an attempt at least to recover 
Marti’s body. But his vengeful valor was ineffectual. 
Marti’s body was taken possession of by the Spaniards, 
who demonstrated their appreciation of his greatness, 
though he was their most formidable foe, by bearing it 
reverently to Santiago and there interring it with all the 
honors of war. 

Thus untimely perished the man who should have lived 


wat e‘snsvsH 
wt mort ebusixs o1st 
eq Misw Wid insioas 
w. bonil bas elowes! 
soa bedsetw sosoittud 
; nioloD to emisq 
eingimsls ol} to e598 
benis.das Ulsio 
o| to 10c0d 


; 
~~ 
“2 

‘ 

4 
.; 
“ae 
. 


< 
¥ i 
Zs —t Perth geno 
chitn imewediiately' 
+ Sat arin A the 
the coal Whee 
vo effected with catia 
wot for Lamagoesy, 
f, intending to go 
230: ad 
‘ie 


eth s most id 
fare extends from the gloomy Pun 

ancient city wall, past the 
laurels and lined with hands 


hurricane wrecked m Ly t 
palms: of Colon Park, but in # € ge 
ages of the elements jremalapidly re 
cially renamed by the Cuban Republic 
honor of José Marti, but the old name s 

even the salisfacteoam 

every life they | af 

“i hinnself being a ame 

mifiot reached Gomez, 
rack, late to save bis: 
wounded in the Antone attack 
dards. in an attempt athe 
Dot his wengefel valor 
eit peOesessiOn of be 

wir appreciation of : 

<7 teest foraitdable foo, 
nie wt there interring: 


. 
just ioe 


~ wef 
iced (ae man who shouldd 


a 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 17 


to be known as the Father of His Country. But he left 
a Name crowned with imperishable fame. A Spanish 
American author has said that the Spanish race in Amer- 
ica has produced only two geniuses, Bolivar and Marti. 
If that judgment be too severe in its restriction, at least 
it is not an over-estimate of those two transcendent 
patriots. Marti left, moreover, an example and an in- 
spiration which never failed his countrymen during the 
subsequent years of war. Their loss in his death was 
irreparable, but they were not inconsolable; for while he 
perished, his cause survived. That cause was well set 
forth by him in the manifesto which he issued at Monte 
Cristi, Hayti, on March 25, 1895, and which read as 
follows: 

“The war is not against the Spaniard, who, secured by 
his children and by loyalty to the country which the latter 
will establish, shall be able to enjoy, respected and even 
loved, that liberty which will sweep away only the 
thoughtless who block its path. Nor will the war be the 
cradle of disturbances which are alien to the tried modera- 
tion of the Cuban character, nor of tyranny. Those who 
have fomented it and are still its sponsors declare in its 
name to the country its freedom from all hatred, its fra- 
ternal indulgence to the timid Cuban, and its radical re- 
spect for the dignity of man, which constitutes the sinews 
of battle and the foundation of the Republic. And they 
affirm that it will be magnanimous with the penitent, and 
inflexible only with vice and inhumanity. 

“Tn the war which has been recommenced in Cuba you 
will not find a revolution beside itself with the joy of rash 
heroism, but a revolution which comprehends the re- 
sponsibilities incumbent upon the founders of nations. 
Cowardice might seek to profit by another fear under the 
pretext of prudence—the senseless fear which has never 


18 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


been justified in Cuba—the fear of the negro race. The 
past revolution, with its generous though subordinate sol- 
diers, indignantly denies, as does the long trial of exile as 
well as of the respite in the island, the menace of a race 
war, with which our Spanish beneficiaries would like to 
inspire a fear of the revolution. The war of emancipa- 
tion and their common labor have obliterated the hatred 
which slavery might have inspired. The novelty and 
crudity of social relations consequent to the sudden change 
of a man who belonged to another into a man who be- 
longed to himself, are overshadowed by the sincere esteem 
of the white Cuban for the equal soul, and the desire for 
education, the fervor of a free man, and the amiable 
character of his negro compatriot. 

“In the Spanish inhabitants of Cuba, instead of the 
hateful spite of the first war, the revolution, which does 
not flatter nor fear, expects to find such affectionate neu- 
trality or material aid that through them the war will be 
shorter, its disasters less, and more easy and friendly the 
subsequent peace in which father and son are to live. We 
Cubans commenced the war; the Cubans and Spaniards 
together will terminate it. If they do not ill treat us, we 
will not ill treat them. Let them respect us and we will 
respect them. Steel will answer to steel, and friendship 
to friendship.” 

It may be that not all the generous and altruistic antici- 
pations of this exalted utterance were fully realized. It 
may be confidently declared that all were sincerely meant 
by their author; and the world will testify that seldom if 
ever was a war begun with nobler ideals than those thus 
set forth by Jose Marti. 


CHAPTER II 


WE have said that there was no consideration of an- 
nexation to the United States, on the part of the organizers 
and directors of the Cuban War of Independence. Nei- 
ther was there much if any thought of intervention by the 
United States in Cuba’s behalf; though that was what 
ultimately occurred. No doubt, if ever a fleeting thought 
of that passed through a Cuban patriot’s mind, he es- 
teemed it “a consummation devoutly to be wished.” But 
it was not reckoned to be within the limits of reasonable 
possibility. Certainly it was never discussed, and it may 
be said with even more positiveness that there was never 
any attempt to bring it about by surreptitious means. 
The charge was occasionally made, in quarters unfriendly 
to the Cuban cause, that the Junta was endeavoring to 
embroil the United States in a war with Spain. That 
was absolutely untrue. No such effort was ever made by 
any responsible or authoritative Cuban. 

It might rather be said that the Junta was solicitous to 
avoid so far as possible danger of complications between 
the United States and Spain. For example, it did not 
encourage Americans to enter the Cuban army, but dis- 
couraged them from so doing and often rejected them out- 
right. An expert ex-Pinkerton detective was employed 
by the Junta to serve constantly in its New York office. 
His duties were in part to detect if possible any spies or 
Spanish agents who might come in and want to enlist 
with, of course, the intention of betraying the cause. But 


he also did his best to dissuade all but Cubans from en- 
19 


20 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


listing. He was under directions from the Junta to warn 
all American applicants, of whom there were many, that 
they had better not enter the Cuban service: First, be- 
cause they did not realize the formidable and desperate 
character of the undertaking in which they were seeking 
to participate; second, because the Junta could give them 
no assurance of pay, or even of food; and third, because 
they were sure soon to grow tired of the arduous, dis- 
couraging, up-hill campaign which was before them. 
The only men who were wanted, and the only men who 
were generally accepted were Cubans, whose patriotic in- 
terest in the island would enable them to endure cheerfully 
what would be intolerable to an alien. They were be- 
lieved by the Junta to be the only men who would per- 
manently stand the test. 

As a matter of fact only a very few Americans were 
accepted; probably not more than forty or fifty all told. 
They were accepted partly because they were so insistent 
and persistent in their desires and demands, and partly 
because of some qualifications which made them of spe- 
cial value. ‘They were chiefly sharpshooters who had 
formerly served in the United States army. When they 
were accepted they were reminded that they were forfeit- 
ing all claim upon the United States government for pro- 
tection or rescue, no matter what might befall them. 
Thus if they were killed or captured and ill treated in any 
way by the Spanish they would be debarred from appeal- 
ing to the United States, and there would be no danger of 
any friction between the United States and Spain on their 
account. 

The only way in which the Junta deliberately incurred 
the risk of causing international trouble was in the or- 
ganization and dispatching of filibustering and supply 
expeditions from the United States to Cuba. Of course, 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 21 


all such performances were illegal. Spain protested and 
raged against them, and the United States government 
sincerely and indefatigably strove to prevent them. But 
it was to no avail. The expeditions kept going. For 
two years there was an average of one a month, carrying 
men, arms and ammunition, and other supplies. 

Another important traffic between Cuba and the United 
States was that in information 
between the patriots in the island 
and the Junta in New York. 
The chief agent in this perilous 
but essential work was Mr. 
George Reno, who has _ since 
served in important capacities 
under the civil government of the 
Cuban Republic. It was his 
duty periodically to run the 
blockade between the little town 
of Guanaja and Nassau. The SEORGE ENC 
former was a little place of a few hundred inhabitants 
on the Bay of Sabinal, on the northern coast of Cama- 
guey; and the latter was the capital of New Providence 
Island in the British Bahamas, the favorite resort of 
blockade runners during the Civil War in the United 
States, and since then the terminus of a cable line run- 
ning to Jupiter, on the Florida coast. At Nassau Dr. 
Indalacio Salas, a Cuban physician, who had lived there 
many years, represented the Junta and acted as a sort 
of Cuban postmaster; receiving letters and messages from 
Cuba and forwarding them to the United States, and vice 
versa. 

This contraband messenger service between Cuba and 
Nassau was one of the romantic features of the campaign 
of which the public knew nothing. The trips were made 


22 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


in a little sloop-rigged yacht, carrying three or four men, 
and while they afforded no spectacle to the public eye and 
did not figure in the news as did various filibustering ex- 
peditions, they were often of vital importance to the 
patriot cause, and they were fraught with much peril. 
The passage of several hundred miles was made across 
the Great Bahama Bank and the Tongue of Ocean; peril- 
ous waters dotted with reefs and rocks and subject to 
violent storms, and closely watched at the south by Span- 
ish cruisers. The portion of the trip nearest the Cuban 
coast was generally made at night, to avoid the Span- 
iards, but the darkness added to the peril in other respects. 
This service was the chief though not the sole means of 
communication between the Cuban patriots and the rest 
of the world. Some correspondence was smuggled out 
of Havana on American steamers, but that was perilous 
work and was seldom attempted. Some was carried by a 
Cuban sailor in a little cat-rigged boat, with which he 
made trips when occasion offered between some point on 
the southern coast of Oriente and the island of Jamaica. 
On these trips, both from Nassau and Jamaica, were car- 
ried not only letters and communications of all sorts but 
also important supplies of medicines, surgical instru- 
ments, and other small articles which were often of in- 
dispensable value. The service was therefore of the 
greatest possible value to the Cubans, and it was arduous 
and perilous to those who rendered it. It was performed, 
however, without remuneration or compensation of any 
kind, save the satisfaction of aiding the patriot cause. 
The Cuban revolution had no money with which to pay 
salaries, but all men served for the sake of Cuba Libre. 
The attitude of the people of Cuba toward the revolu- 
tion, so far as at this early date they knew what was going 
on, was varied according to their occupations, interests 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 23 


and relationships. The professional classes, the lawyers, 
physicians, educators, men of letters and others, for the 
most part wished for complete separation from Spain, 
and aided the cause of independence with their money and 
their influence. There were, however, some of them, in- 
cluding not a few of the most estimable and most patriotic 
men on the island, whose faith was not able to forecast 
victory. They saw on the side of the Cubans lack of 
money, lack of arms and ammunition, and lack of that 
direct connection with the outer world which was indis- 
pensable for support; and on the side of Spain plenty of 
money, equipment and communications, and an army of 
200,000 trained soldiers thrown into a territory about the 
size of the State of Pennsylvania, together with an inflex- 
ible resolution never to surrender the island but to sup- 
press every insurrection at no matter what cost. It was 
surely not strange that they regarded such odds as too 
formidable to be overcome, by even the most ardent and 
self-sacrificing patriotism, and therefore thought that the 
course of greater wisdom would be to persuade, compel 
or otherwise prevail upon Spain to bestow upon the island 
a genuine and satisfactory measure of autonomy. 

The merchants and commercial classes very largely 
consisted of Spaniards, a fact which sufficiently indicates 
their attitude. They were not only resolutely committed 
against the revolution, and indeed against autonomy, but 
they were almost incredibly bitter against the Cuban Inde- 
pendence party. It was from those classes that the no- 
torious “(Cuban Volunteers” had been recruited in the 
Ten Years’ war, men who, though living in Cuba and 
enriching themselves from her resources, were ‘‘more 
Spanish than Spain.” They corresponded with the 
Tories of the American Revolution, and not merely the 
Tories who sat in their chairs and railed against the Revo- 


24 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


lution, but rather those who took up arms in the British 
cause, and who allied themselves with the Red Indians 
with tomahawk and scalping knife. The animus of 
these Spaniards in Cuba was not, generally speaking, 
love of Spain, nor yet hatred of the Cubans, but rather 
greed of gain. They were not patriotic, but simply sor- 
did. With Cuba under Spanish domination, they were 
enabled to amass great wealth, and they wanted such con- 
ditions and such opportunities of enrichment continued. 
That was not an exalted attitude, and it was naturally 
odious to the Cuban patriots who were serving without 
pay and sacrificing their all for the independence of the 
island and for the attainment of a degree of material pros- 
perity as well as of civic and spiritual enfranchisement 
immeasurably beyond the sordid conceptions of these 
selfish time-servers. 

The attitude of another important though less numer- 
ous and less demonstrative class, the manufacturers of 
sugar and tobacco, varied greatly according to the indi- 
vidual. Some were Spaniards; and they, like the mer- 
chants, were inflexibly opposed to the revolution, for 
similar reasons. Some were Autonomists, and they in- 
clined toward compromise. They did not want their 
lands to be ravaged and their cane fields and buildings 
to be burned in war; not because they would hesitate at 
any necessary sacrifice for the welfare of Cuba but because 
they regarded such sacrifices as unnecessary. Some were 
members of the Cuban Independence party, and they cor- 
dially and eagerly supported the revolution; saying: 
“Let our fields and buildings be burned. If it is neces- 
sary in order to free the island that our property shall be 
ruined, let it be ruined!” 

This patriotic attitude of some of the great property- 
owners, who had most to lose through the ravages of war 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA A) 


but who were ready to risk all, was finely displayed in the 
very midst of the conflict. There were in the Province of 
Santa Clara two very wealthy Cuban women, sisters. 
They were Marta Abreu, who became the wife of the 
Vice-President of the Cuban Republic, and who died in 
France, and Rosalie Abreu, whose home is preeminently 
the “show place” of Cuba and is perhaps the most beauti- 
ful residence in all the tropical regions of the world. 
These women gave large sums of money for the revolu- 

‘tion and made many sacrifices for it, beside running great 
risks of utter disaster to their fortunes. They were both 
in Paris when news came of the death of Antonio Maceo, 
the brilliant and daring commander who had carried the 
war westward into Havana and Pinar del Rio and who 
fell in battle in the former province. His death was a 
disaster well calculated to shake the fortitude of the patri- 
ots, if not to strike them with despair. But immediately 
upon hearing the news Marta Abreu sent a cable dispatch 
to Benjamin Guerra, the Treasurer of the Junta, urging 
him not to be discouraged but to “keep the good work 
going,” and adding that she and her sister were each mail- 
ing him a check for $50,000. Such a spirit was in- 
domitable. 

The small farmers of the island, or “guajiros,” the 
peasantry and rural workingmen, were strongly in favor 
of the revolution, although it meant unspeakable hard- 
shipstothem. They sent their families up into the moun- 
tains, where they would be comparatively safe from the 
actual fighting, and where the old men, the women and 
the children could cultivate little patches of ground, 
planted with sweet potatoes, yucca and other food plants, 
which would supply them with nourishment and also con- 
tribute to the feeding of the patriot army. Then the men 
joined the ranks of the revolutionary army. It should 


26 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


be added that among the most eager recruits were many 
sons of Autonomists. ‘Their fathers deprecated the war, 
but the sons realized its necessity. There were even some 
sons of Spanish Loyalists in the patriot army, who fought 
faithfully for the Cuban cause against their own fathers. 

The priesthood of the island was absolutely against 
the revolution and in favor of maintaining the sovereignty 
of the Spanish crown in Cuba. ‘There may have been a 
few exceptions, of priests who not only favored independ- 
ence but who actually went into the field with the patriot 
army and fought for it. But apart from them the Church 
was solidly for Spain. ‘The great majority of the priests 
had come from Spain, and remained Spaniards at heart 
and in political sympathy. ‘They preached from their 
pulpits against the revolution, and undoubtedly exerted 
considerable influence in that direction. That fact was 
not forgotten after the war, and it explained the very gen- 
eral antipathy toward or at least lack of sympathy with 
the Church which then and thereafter prevailed among 
the men of Cuba. The women, even the most patriotic, 
largely remained faithful to the Church and subject to its 
spiritual influence, but the men renounced it because of 
what they regarded as its unfaithfulness to the cause of 
Free Cuba. 

There were at this time happily no racial nor partisan 
differences among the patriots of Cuba. There were 
white men, there were negroes, and there were those of 
mixed blood. But the same spirit of independence ani- 
mated them all, and they fought side by side in the field, 
and sat side by side in council, with never a thought of 
prejudice. Antonio Maceo, one of the most honored and 
trusted patriot generals, was a mulatto, but he was re- 
garded as the peer of any of the white commanders, white 
men gladly served under him, and we have already seen 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA aa 


how his death was regarded by the Abreu sisters, who were 
aristocrats of the purest Creole blood. It was only in 
later years, after Cuban independence had been attained, 
that so much as an attempt was made at the raising of 
race issues in Cuba, and then only through the exercise 
of the most sinister and unworthy influences for sordid 
ends. 

Nor were there partisan differences. Indeed at this 
time the Cuban Independence Party was a harmonious 
unity. There were no symptoms of any factional divi- 
sion. The rise of partisanship did not occur until after 
the war of independence had been won and, if we may 
for a moment anticipate the course of events, until it was 
realized that the United States really meant to keep its 
word and make Cuba an independent Republic. For, 
truth to tell, when the United States intervened in the con- 
flict between Cuba and Spain, in the spring of 1898, while 
there was assured confidence throughout the island that 
the end of Spanish rule was at hand, there was also a 
general belief that annexation to the United States was 
inevitable. The great majority of the Cuban people 
probably did not know of the pledge which was appended 
to the Declaration of War, that the United States would 
withdraw and leave Cuba to self-government, and they 
assumed that American intervention meant American con- ° 
quest and annexation. The comparatively few who did 
know about it had little expectation that it would ever 
be fulfilled. Even if the United States made the promise 
in good faith, something would happen to prevent its 
being carried out. When at last it was found that the 
United States was in earnest, and that Cuba was indeed 
to have independence, just as though she had won it 
without aid, there was surprise amounting almost to stupe- 
faction, there was unbounded exultation, and there was, 


28 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


unhappily, division of the people into antagonistic par- 
ties. Of these we shall hear more hereafter. 

Thus was the issue joined. The great mass of the 
Cuban people was united and harmonious in its deter- 
mination at last to achieve that independence of the island 
for which so many men during so many years had wished 
and worked and suffered. ‘The Spanish party was im- 
placable; and the Autonomists were largely unsympa- 
thetic—not all, for some in time joined the revolution; 
but the Cuban Independence party, comprising the large 
majority of the population, was resolute and irrepressible 
in its course. 


CHAPTER III 


THE war was on. Marti and his comrades had 
planned to have a simultaneous uprising in all six prov- 
inces on February 24. In each a leader was appointed, 
an organization was formed, and such supplies as could 
be obtained were provided. But in only three provinces 
did an actual insurrection occur. These were Oriente, 
or Santiago as it was then called, Santa Clara, and Ma- 
tanzas; the extreme eastern and the two central provinces. 
In Oriente uprisings occurred at two points, under Henry 
Brooks at Guantanamo, and at Los Negros under Guil- 
lermon Moncada. In Matanzas there were also two 
uprisings; one at Aguacate, on the Havana borderline, 
under Manuel Garcia, and one at Ybarra. In Santa 
Clara the chief demonstration was near Cienfuegos, under 
General Matagas. The uprising in Havana was to have 
been under the leadership of Julio Sanguilly, but in some 
way never satisfactorily explained he was betrayed and 
arrested and the outbreak did not occur. There were 
not a few who at first suspected and even charged that 
Sanguilly himself had betrayed the cause, for Spanish 
money, but his sentence to life imprisonment by the Span- 
ish authorities seemed abundantly to disprove this charge. 

The insurgents naturally made most headway at first 
in Oriente. There were fewer Spanish troops in that 
province and there were more mountain fastnesses for 
refuge in case of enforced retreat, than in the more densely 
settled and populated central provinces. We have al- 
ready seen that a numerous company of patriots marched 
from Baire to Santiago to present to the Spanish com- 

29 


30 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


mander there, General Jose Lachambre, their demands for 
the independence of Cuba. ‘That officer of course re- 
jected their demands, and on their retirement sent Colonel 
Perico Perez after them with 500 troops, to capture or 
disperse them. But Perez and his men did neither. In- 
stead, they joined the insurgents under Henry Brooks, 
and were among the foremost to do effective work against 
the Spaniards. Maso Parra recruited a strong band near 
Manzanillo, but instead of fighting there proceeded to 
Havana Province, accompanied by Enrique Cespedes and 
Amador Guerra, in hope of raising the standard of revo- 
lution where Sanguilly had failed. ‘The Spanish forces 
were so strong there, however, as to overawe most of the 
Cubans, or at any rate to make it seem more expedient to 
put forward their chief efforts in other places. In Ma- 
tanzas the earliest engagements were fought by troops 
under Antonio Lopez Coloma and Juan Gualberto Gomez, 
with indifferent results. Another sharp conflict occurred 
at Jaguey Grande, and there were yet others at Vequita; 
at Sevilla, where the patriots defeated 1,500 Spanish 
regulars commanded by General Lachambre; at Ulloa, 
at Baire, and at Los Negros. A belated uprising in 
Pinar del Rio under General Azcuy came speedily to 
erief, as did another near Holguin. By the early days 
of March the entire movement seemed to have subsided 
save in the southern parts of Oriente. 

The Spanish authorities had acted promptly and vigor- 
ously. The revolution began on February 24. ‘The 
very next day a special meeting of the Spanish Cabinet 
was held at Madrid, as a result of which the Minister for 
the Colonies, Senor Abarzuza, authorized Captain-Gen- 
eral Callejas to proclaim martial law throughout Cuba. 
This was in fact done by Callejas before Abarzuza’s order 
reached him, and he also put into operation the “Public 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 31 


Order law” which provided for the immediate punish- 
ment of anyone taken in the performance or attempt of a 
seditious act. The Captain-General had at his disposal 
at this time nominally six regiments of infantry and three 
of cavalry, two battalions of garrison artillery and one 
mountain battery, aggregating about 19,000 men, and 
nearly 14,000 local militia, remains of the notorious 
Volunteers of the Ten Years’ War; a total of nearly 33,- 
000 men. But these figures were delusive. Callejas 
himself reported, on ‘his return to Spain two or three 
- months later, that half of the regular forces existed only 
on paper, and that the militia was altogether untrust- 
worthy. He had learned the latter fact by bitter experi- 
ence when at the very beginning Perico Perez and his 500 
men had deserted to the Cuban cause. The fact is that 
the leaven of patriotism had begun to work even among 
the old Volunteers and still more among their sons, and 
many of them came frankly over to the cause which they 
or their fathers had formerly so savagely opposed. Cal- 
lejas’s forces were very weak in artillery, but that did not 
greatly matter, since the revolutionists at this time had 
none at all. He enjoyed the great advantage of having 
possession of all the large towns and cities along the 
coast with their fortifications both inland and seaward; 
fortifications which were somewhat antiquated but still 
sufficiently effective against ill-armed insurgents without 
artillery. The Spanish navy in Cuban waters comprised 
five small cruisers and six gunboats; not a formidable 
force, but infinitely superior to that of the revolutionists, 
which consisted of nothing at all. It assisted in protect- 
ing the coast towns, and served for the transportation of 
troops and supplies, but its chief function was to guard 
the coast against filibustering and supply expeditions. 
Although the Spanish forces were very considerably 


32 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


superior to the revolutionists numerically as well as in 
equipment and abundance of supplies, Calleja realized 
that they would not be sufficient to cope with the patriots 
on their own ground and in the increasing numbers which 
he prudently anticipated would rally to their standard. 
Accordingly early in March he sent to Spain an urgent 
call for large reenforcements for both army and navy, 
declaring that he could not hold his own, much less sup- 
press the revolt, without them, and giving warning that 
unless he received them promptly he would not be re- 
sponsible for the consequences. In response a battalion 
of regulars was immediately transferred to Cuba from 
Porto Rico, and 7,000 more were sent from Spain. All 
the civil prefects throughout the island were replaced 
with military officers. In Havana and elsewhere all 
prominent Cubans suspected of complicity or even sym- 
pathy with the revolution were arrested and imprisoned. 
The Morro Castle at Havana was crowded with the best 
citizens of the metropolitan province. But this attempt 
at repression only added fuel to the flame. The revolu- 
tion burst out anew in the Province of Oriente, and when 
Callejas ordered the local troops of Havana to proceed 
thither, they mutinied and refused to go. In such cir- 
cumstances Callejas, who at first had affected to regard 
the outbreak as mere sporadic brigandage, now openly 
confessed that it was an island-wide revolution. 
Complications with the United States also speedily 
arose. The arrest of Julio Sanguilly and others at Ha- 
vana has been mentioned. These men had been in the 
United States for years, and had become naturalized citi- 
zens of that country, wherefore the United States consul- 
general at Havana, Ramon O. Williams, made formal 
demand that they should be tried before a civil court and 
should have the benefit of counsel, instead of being sum- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 33 


marily disposed of by court martial. This was a legiti- 
mate demand, which had to be granted, but it incensed 
Callejas so much that he asked the Spanish government to 
demand Williams’s recall; which that government very 
prudently did not do. At Santiago, also, two American 
sailors, who had landed there in a small boat, and had 
been arrested as filibusters, made appeal to the American 


VHLD Nags SD 


LA PUNTA FORTRESS, HAVANA 


consul there, who also insisted that they should have a 
civil trial; as a result of which they were acquitted. 
While thus careful to protect the rights of its citizens, 
native or naturalized, the United States government was 
equally energetic in its endeavors to prevent violations of 
the neutrality law by filibustering expeditions, and went 
to great expense and pains therein. It watched and 
guarded all Atlantic and Gulf ports to prevent the de- 
parture of such expeditions, and gave hospitality to a 
Spanish cruiser which lay at Key West to watch for and 
intercept them. Hannis Taylor, the American Minister 
at Madrid, assured the Spanish government that the 
United States would do all that was in its power to pre- 
vent such expeditions from departing from its shores, 
and that promise was fulfilled with exceptional efficiency. ~ 
Indeed, the United States administration incurred much 
popular censure for its energy in stopping the sailing of 


34 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


vessels which were suspected of carrying supplies to 
Cuba; for it did stop a number of them, to the very heavy 
pecuniary loss of the patriots. Nevertheless some vessels 
were successful in eluding the vigilance of the federal 
guards, and that fact gave umbrage in Spain; so that 
while at home the American government was charged with 
hostility to the Cuban cause, in Spain it was charged with 
too greatly favoring it. 

With the receipt of reenforcements, Callejas made re- 
newed efforts to suppress the revolution; though he had 
little heart in the matter and seemed to realize the hope- 
lessness of the task. Practically all the fighting was in 
Oriente. Colonel Santocildes made an unsuccessful at- 
tack upon the patriots near Guantanamo on March 10, 
and a week later Colonel Bosch had an equally unsatis- 
factory meeting with them under Brooks and Perez near 
Ulloa. So strong were the insurgents becoming in that 
province that they began to exercise the functions of civil 
government, in the carrying of mails and the collection of 
taxes. Beside Henry Brooks and Perico Perez, under 
whom were the largest forces, Bartolome Maso, who had 
returned from Havana, held Manzanillo with a thousand 
troops, Jesus Rabi occupied Baire and Jiguani with 
1,500, and Quintin Banderas, Amador Guerra and Este- 
ban Tomayo had among them 2,000 more. After his re- 
pulse at Guantanamo the Spanish Colonel Santocildes 
went to Bayamo, where he was attacked and routed with 
heavy loss. A few days later, on March 24, a battle was 
fought at Jaraguana between Amador Guerra, with 900 
Cubans, and Colonel Araoz, with 1,000 Spanish regulars, 
in which the latter suffered the heavier losses, though they 
finally compelled the Cubans to retire from the field. 

At this time an effort was made by both the Captain- 
General and some leaders of the Cuban Autonomists to 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 15) 


make terms with the revolutionists. With the assent and 
cooperation of Callejas a commission of Autonomists, 
headed by Juan Bautista Spotorno,—who had once been 
for a time President of the Cuban Republic, shortly after 
the Ten Years’ War,—proceeded to Oriente and sought 
a conference with Bartolome Maso at Manzanillo. That 
sturdy patriot received them grimly. He listened to their 
proposals in ominous silence. ‘Then, in a voice all the 
more menacing for its repression of passion, he addressed 
Spotorno: 

“You were once President of the Cuban Republic in 
the Field?” 

“Ves, Bartolome; you know that.” 

“Vou then as President issued a decree of death against 
anyone who should seek to persuade the Cuban govern- 
ment to accept any terms short of independence ?”’ 

feees out)...” 

“Then, Bautista Spotorno, for this once, go in peace; 
but go very quickly, lest I change my mind as you have 
changed yours. And be assured that if you or any of 
your kind ever come hither with such proposals again, I 
shall execute upon you or upon them your own decree!” 

The next day Jose Marti and Maximo Gomez issued 
in Hayti the manifesto which we have already cited, which 
had the result of assuring all wavering or doubtful 
Cubans that the most authoritative leaders of their nation 
were directing the revolution, and that it was to be indeed 
a struggle to a finish. There was another result. The 
Spanish Captain-General, Emilio Callejas, despaired of 
coping with the steadily rising storm, and on March 27 
he placed his resignation in the hands of the Queen 
Regent of Spain. That sovereign immediately sum- 
moned a Cabinet council, herself presiding. It-was no 
longer the Liberal Cabinet of Praxedes Sagasta. That 


36 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


body had fallen a few days before, in a political crisis 
which had arisen in Madrid over a newspaper contro- 
versy about Cuban affairs. An advanced Liberal paper, 
El Restimen, had imputed cowardice to army officers who, 
it said, were always eager to serve in Cuba in time of 
peace, but shunned that island whenever there was fight- 
ing going on. At this a mob of officers attacked and 
wrecked the offices of the paper, and the next evening 
attacked the offices of El Heraldo and El Globo, which 
had denounced their doings. The next day all the papers 
of Madrid notified the government that they would sus- 
pend publication unless assured of protection against 
such outrages. General Lopez Dominguez approved the 
conduct of the riotous officers and demanded that the 
editors of the papers be delivered to him for trial by 
court martial. The Prime Minister, Sagasta, replied that 
that would not be legal, since all press offences against 
the army short of treason must be tried before civil juries. 
Then Marshal Martinez Campos, who as Captain-Gen- 
eral had ended the Ten Years’ War in Cuba, led a depu- 
tation of army officers to demand of Sagasta that he 
should suppress El Restimen and have more strict press 
Jaws enacted. Sagasta refused and, finding his support 
in the Cortes untrustworthy in the face of military bully- 
ing, offered the resignation of the Ministry, on March 17. 
The Queen Regent invited Campos to form a Ministry, 
but he declined; though he announced that all newspaper 
men attacking the army would be shot, and he arbitrarily 
haled before military tribunals a number of editors, while 
other journalists fled the country. 

The Queen Regent then called upon Canovas del Cas- 
tillo, the Conservative leader, to form a cabinet, and on 
March 25 he did so, despite the fact that his party was 
in a minority in the Cortes, and it was this Conservative 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 37 


cabinet which the sovereign consulted four days later 
concerning the resignation of Callejas and affairs in Cuba 
in general. It was decided to accept Callejas’s resigna- 
tion, with special thanks for his loyal services, to appoint 
Martinez Campos to succeed him, to ask fresh credits of 
$120,000,000 for the expenses of the war, to send large 
reenforcements to Cuba, and to increase the peace footing 
of the Spanish army from 71,000 to 82,000 men. The 
troops in Cuba were at once to be increased to 40,000 men, 
and 40,000 more were to be added, if needed, in four 
months. Thus did Spain rouse herself to fight her last 
fight for the retention of her last American possession. 

It was not, however, until April 15 that Callejas re- 
ceived a message from the Queen Regent, formally ac- 
cepting his resignation, thanking him for “the activity, 
zeal and ability” with which he ‘had conducted the mili- 
tary operations against the revolutionists, complimenting 
all the forces under his command for their valor, and 
directing him to return to Spain by the next steamer that 
sailed from Havana after the arrival of his successor. 
And his successor landed the very next day, at Guan- 
tanamo. There was much adverse comment among 
Spaniards in Cuba upon this summary recall of Callejas. 
The explanation of it was that the government regarded 
him as culpable for letting the revolution gain so great 
headway, but it did not deem it politic to censure him 
publicly, or at all until he was back at Madrid. As for 
Martinez Campos, he promised on his acceptance of the 
appointment that he would quickly suppress the revolt, as 
he had done the Ten Years’ War; and doubtless he ex- 
pected that he would be able to do so. 

Indeed, in sending Martinez Campos to Cuba, Spain 
“played her strongest card.” He had long been known 
as ‘“Spain’s greatest General,” and also as the “King- 


38 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Maker,” since it was he who had restored the Bourbon 
dynasty to the throne. He was undoubtedly a soldier of 
great valor, skill and resource. He was also a statesman 
of more than ordinary ability, and had been for a time 
Prime Minister of Spain, and for fifteen years had been 
making and unmaking ministries at will. Now, at the 
age of sixty-four he was still in the prime of his powers 
and at the height of his popularity and influence. His 
departure from Madrid for Cuba was attended with 
demonstrations, both official and popular, which could 
scarcely have been exceeded for royalty itself. He 
reached Guantanamo on April 16, and on the following 
day assumed his office. It was not until a week later 
that he reached Havana. There he was received with 
unbounded rejoicings by the Spanish party, and with 
sincere satisfaction by the Autonomists, while it must be 
confessed that many Cuban patriots regarded his com- 
ing with dismay. ‘There could be no doubt that it por- 
tended the putting forth of all the might of Spain against 
the revolution, under the command of a great soldier- 
statesman who had never yet failed in an undertaking. 
On the very day after his arrival at Guantanamo the 
new Captain-General issued a proclamation to the people 
of Cuba. In it he pledged himself to fulfil in good faith 
all the reforms which had been promised in his own 
Treaty of Zanjon and in subsequent legislation by the 
Spanish Cortes, provided the loyal parties in Cuba would 
give him their support; this admission of dependence 
upon the people being obviously a bid for popularity. 
The parties in question were, of course, the Spaniards, 
who were divided into Conservatives and Reformists, and 
the Autonomists, or Cuban Home Rulers. They or their 
leaders at once pledged him their support, and the Span- 
iards gave it, for a time. But a number of the Auto- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 39 


nomists were dissatisfied because he would promise noth- 
ing more than the fulfilment of reforms which had never 
been regarded as sufficient, and on that account refused 
him their support. Instead, they gave it to the revolu- 
tionists, and many of them, especially the younger men, 
actually joined the revolutionary army, or went to Ja- 
maica or the United States to assist in the raising of funds 
and the equipping of expeditions. It was thus at this 
time that the disintegration of the once influential Auto- 
nomist party began. 

To the revolutionists he tried to be conciliatory. He 
offered full and free pardon to all who would lay down 
their arms, excepting a few of the leaders, and he doubt- 
less expected that there would be a numerous response. 
It does not appear that there was any favorable response 
whatever. If any insurgents did surrender themselves— 
of whom there is no record—they were outnumbered a 
hundred to one by the Autonomists who at that time were 
transformed into revolutionists. 

Campos did not rely, however, upon his proclamation 
for the suppression of the insurrection. He set to work 
at once with all his consummate military skill and his 
knowledge of the island and of Cuban methods of war- 
fare, to organize a military campaign of victory. He 
made General Garrich governor of the Province of Ori- 
ente, with General Salcedo in command of the First 
Division, at Santiago, and General Lachambre of the 
Second Division, at Bayamo. He undertook the organ- 
ization of numerous bodies of irregular troops, to wage a 
guerrilla warfare against the Cubans similar to that which 
the Cubans themselves waged successfully against Span- 
ish regulars. When he found his troops from Spain dis- 
inclined toward such work, or unsuited to it, he sought 
the services of young Spaniards who had for some years 


40 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


been settled in Cuba, such as had been so ready to serve 
in the former war. ‘They generally declined, whereupon 
he sought to draft them into the service, and at that they 
threatened mutiny. As a last resort he sent for Lolo 
Benitez, a life prisoner at Ceuta. This man had been a 
guerrilla leader, on the Cuban side, in the Ten Years’ 
War, but had been guilty of cruelties which caused the 
Cubans to repudiate him. He had been captured by the 
Spaniards and sent to the penal colony in Africa for life. 
But Campos brought him back and gave him a free 
pardon and commission as lieutenant colonel in the Span- 
ish army, on condition that he would conduct a guerrilla 
warfare against his own countrymen. When this was 
done, and when under this man were placed numerous 
criminals released from Cuban jails, there were vigorous 
protests from Spanish officers against such degradation 
of the Spanish army, and warnings that such unworthy 
tactics would surely react against their author. 

The official attitude of the Spanish government was 
at this time set forth by the Spanish Minister to the 
United States, Senor Dupuy de Lome. He belittled the 
reports of Spanish oppressions and of Cuban uprisings. 
“There is very little interest,” he said, “being taken in 
the revolt by the people of Havana. I think the upris- 
ing will speedily be put down. The arrival of General 
Martinez Campos has brought order out of chaos. He 
has shown clearly to the people that their interests will be 
protected, and as a result has caused a feeling of security. 
He is every inch a soldier, not a toy fighter. He is loyal 
to his country, but he is humane, and as far as possible 
he will treat his enemies leniently. In the case of the 
leaders of the revolt, however, severe justice will be meted 
out.” 

Meantime the revolution was proceeding. The most 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 41 


formidable figure in its ranks in Cuba was that of Antonio 
Maceo, the mulatto general who above most of his col- 
leagues possessed a veritable genius for war, both in 
strategy and in direct fighting. He had come of a family 
of fighters, and had been born in Santiago in 1849, and 
had fought in the Ten Years’ War. He was highly gifted 
with the qualities of leadership among men, with valor 
and resolution, with keen foresight and great intelligence. 
He was probably the ablest strategist in the War of Inde- 
pendence, and personally the most popular commander. 
At the end of March he arrived in Cuba from Costa Rica 
with an expedition well equipped with rifles and small 
field pieces. With him were his brother Jose Maceo, 
Flor Crombet, Dr. Francisco Agramonte, and several 
other officers. The landing was made at Baracoa, the 
Spanish gunboats which were watching the coast being 
successfully eluded. Soon after landing the patriots 
were attacked by General Lachambre’s troops at Duaba, 
but the latter were repulsed with considerable loss. A 
part of the expedition was then sent around by sea to 
Manzanillo, on a British schooner. That vessel was 
wrecked and in consequence its captain and crew were 
captured by the Spaniards, who put the captain to death. 
Dr. Agramonte was one of several members of the expe- 
dition who were also taken, but he, being an American 
citizen, escaped court martial and was more leniently 
dealt with by a civil court, on the demand of the American 
consul at Santiago. 

In a short time this masterful leader, Antonio Maceo, 
had control of practically all of the Province of Oriente 
outside of a few fortified coast cities and camps. The 
Captain-General, vainly imagining that the insurrection 
would be confined to that province, sent thither all avail- 
able troops, leaving Havana, Matanzas and the others 


42 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


with scarcely more than police guard. Thus greatly out- 
numbered, Maceo wisely resorted not so much to guerrilla 
warfare as to what may be called Fabian tactics. He 
maintained his army in complete organization and ob- 
served all the rules of civilized warfare. But he also 
maintained a high degree of mobility, avoiding any gen- 
eral engagement, and wearing out the morale of the Span- 
iards with forced marches, surprise attacks, and all the 
bewildering and baffling tactics of which so resourceful 
and alert a commander was capable. Early in April he 
was indeed in much peril, being almost completely sur- 
rounded by superior forces near Guantanamo, and actu- 
ally suffering severe losses at Palmerito; but he cut his 
way out by desperate fighting in which he also showed 
himself a master hand. The most serious loss at that 
time was the death of the brave revolutionist Flor Crom- 
bet. He was killed not by Spaniards but by a traitor in 
his own command, whom Maceo presently detected and 
hanged. Soon after the affair at Palmerito, however, 
Maceo captured El] Caney, in the very suburbs of Santi- 
ago, and seized the rich supplies in the Spanish arsenal 
at that place. 

The sending of so many troops from the other proy- 
inces to Oriente emboldened the patriots of Havana and 
Matanzas to take up arms, and uprisings occurred at 
various places, particularly at Cardenas and the city of 
Matanzas. Inthe city of Havana itself a daring attempt 
was made to seize Cabanas and El Morro, liberate the 
political prisoners, and destroy the magazines if they 
could not be held. To encourage these movements Maceo 
sent detachments of his forces from Oriente westward, into 
Camaguey, then still known as the Province of Puerto 
Principe. Jesus Rabi occupied Victoria las Tunas, near 
the boundary of the latter province, and soon had bands 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 43 


operating beyond the border. There was an Autonomist 
organization at Camaguey, which at first disavowed the 
revolution and gave its adherence to the Captain-General, 
but it became demoralized upon the approach of the revo- 
lutionary forces, and many of its members were soon serv- 
ing zealously in Maceo’s ranks. 

The arrival of Jose Marti and Maximo Gomez in 
Cuba at the middle of April, as already related, almost 
simultaneously with the arrival of Martinez Campos, was 
promptly followed by increased activity on the part of 
the Cubans. Floriano Gascon organized a force of negro 
miners at Juragua, and inflicted a crushing defeat upon a 
Spanish garrison at Ramon de las Jaguas; the Spanish 
commander being afterward tried by Spanish court mar- 
tial and condemned to death for inefficiency. At the end 
of the month a Spanish force was entrapped and almost 
destroyed by Jose Maceo, near Guantanamo. The first 
half of May was also marked with much fighting in the 
southern part of Oriente, in which the revolutionists were 
generally successful. Railroads were destroyed to break 
Spanish lines of communication, valuable supplies were 
captured, and Martinez Campos was made to realize the 
formidable character of the insurrection which he had so 
confidently promised to suppress. 

Mention has already been made of the Provisional 
Government which was proclaimed by Maceo early in 
April. On May 18 this was succeeded by another or- 
ganization elected by a convention of delegates consist- 
ing of one representative of each 100 revolutionists actu- 
ally in the field. Bartolome Maso, who had been in 
control of the district of Bayamo since early in March, 
was unanimously chosen President; Maximo Gomez was 
designated as Commander in Chief of the army; and An- 
tonio Maceo was made Commander of the Division of 


44 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Oriente. The next day occurred the tragedy of Marti’s 
death, whereupon Tomas Estrada Palma, who had for- 
merly been Provisional President, was named to succeed 
him as the delegate at large of the Cuban Republic to the 
United States and other countries; Manuel Sanguilly be- 
ing later associated with him at Washington. 

All through that summer the strife continued, steadily 
extending its area westward into Camaguey and Santa 
Clara. Campos endeavored to confine the war to Ori- 
ente, by stretching a line of 4,000 Spanish troops across 
the island at the western boundary of that province, but 
on June 2 Maximo Gomez broke through that line, 
crossed the Jobabo River, and entered Camaguey. 
There he was joined by a nephew of Salvador Cisneros, 
Marquis of Santa Lucia, with a large force, and by Mar- 
cos Garcia, mayor of Sancti Spiritus, who came across 
from the Province of Santa Clara. With these reenforce- 
ments Gomez soon had control of all the southern part 
of Camaguey, and on June 18 the Captain-General was 
compelled to declare that province in a state of siege. 

Then Campos attempted a second barricade. He 
placed a line of troops across the island from Moron to 
Jucaro, near the western boundary of Camaguey, to pre- 
vent Gomez from going on into Santa Clara province. 
This was the line along which was afterward built a 
military railroad, and on which was constructed the fa- 
mous ‘‘Trocha” or barrier of ditches, wire fences and 
block houses. It almost coincided with the line of de- 
marcation between the two ecclesiastical dioceses into 
which the island was divided. But this attempt to con- 
fine the insurrection was no more successful than the 
other. Indeed it was folly to try to shut the revolution 
out of Santa Clara when it was already there. Marcos 
Garcia had left behind him many fervent patriots at 


; BA 


edv of Marti’s 
1, whe bad for- 
ined w succeed” 
Republic te the. 
sanguilly be- 


tii i steadily 
Canty und Santa 
MAXIMO GOMEZ) 4) (4 Ori- 


The foremost military chieftain of the’ War ‘of Independence, 
Maximo Gomez y Baez, was a Cuban by. adoption \rathér than 
birth, having been born at Bani, Santo. Domingo, in 8A He 
was an officer in the last Spanish army in that island, and went 
with it thence to Cuba. There he became disgusted with the bru- 
tality of the Spanish officers toward the Cubans, personally. as- 
saulted his superior, General Villar, and quit the Spanish jservice, 
returning to Santo Domingo, where he engaged in 2 asa 
planter. At the beginning of the Ten Years’ War he retu to 
Cuba, joined the patriots, and did efficient service, rising ‘to~ the 
chief command. After that war he returned to his plantation in 
Santo Domingo, but in 1895 joined José Marti in. leading. the 
Cuban War of Independence. Thereafter his story was the story 
of the Cuban cause. Declining tobe considered’ a ¢eandidate for 
the Presidency of the Republic, he-retired to »privatelifé lafter 
the establishment of independence, and died in 1905, full,of years 
and honor. a 

. o maguey, to prée= 
lara province. 
terward built a 
structed the fa= 
itch vire fences and 


line of de- 
ioceses TRiP 
(OR- 

von the 
rolution 
Marcos 


itriots at 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 45 


Sancti Spiritus, and these soon organized a formidable 
force under the competent lead of Carlos Ruloff, and took 
the field, advancing northward and westward as far as 
Vega Alta. General Zayas and other patriotic leaders 
operated in the southern part of Santa Clara, and soon 
that province was almost as fully aflame with revolution 
as Oriente itself. This was the more significant, because 
it was a populous and opulent province, where the in- 
habitants had much to lose through the ravages of war. 
But like the Romans in the “brave days of old,” the 
Cubans of the revolution “spared neither lands nor gold, 
nor limb nor life,” for the achievement of their national 
independence. 

Meantime in Oriente the Cubans were more than hold- 
ing theirown. ‘They suffered a sore loss in the death of 
the dashing champion Amador Guerra, who was treach- 
erously slain in the moment of victory at Palmas Altas, 
near Manzanillo. But Henry Brooks landed supplies 
of artillery and ammunition at Portillo; Jesus Rabi al- 
most annihilated a strong Spanish force in a defile near 
Jiguani and thus frustrated General Salcedo’s plans to 
surround Maceo’s camp at San Jorge; and on July 5 
Quintin Bandera and Victoriano Garzon attacked and 
dispersed a newly landed Spanish army and captured its 
stores of arms and ammunition. These reverses for his 
arms exasperated Campos into the issuing of a proclama- 
tion on July 7, in which, while still offering pardon to all 
who voluntarily surrendered, he threatened death to all 
who were captured under arms, and exile to African 
prisons to all who were convicted of conspiring against 
the sovereignty of Spain. 

Following this, Campos, “Spain’s greatest soldier,” 
took the field in person. Of this there was need, for 
Maceo was besieging Bayamo, capturing all supplies 


46 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


which were sent thither, and threatening the Spanish gar- 
rison with starvation. Campos hastened to the relief of 
that place, with General Santocildes and a strong force. 
But Maceo did not hesitate to measure strength with 
Campos. He attacked him openly at Peralejo, out- 
manceuvred him and out-fought him, and came very near 
to capturing him with his whole headquarters staff. 
Campos was indeed saved from capture only by the des- 
perate valor of Santocildes, who lost his life in defending 
him; but he did lose his entire ammunition train and was 
compelled to retreat with the remnant of his shattered 
forces into Bayamo and there undergo the humiliation of 
being besieged by the “‘rebels”” whom he had affected to 
despise. ‘There he remained for a week, until General 
Suarez Valdez could come with an army, not to defeat the 
Cubans but to help Campos to flee in safety over the road 
by which he had come. Then, when the Spaniards had 
concentrated more than 10,000 troops at Bayamo for a 
supreme struggle, the wily Maceo quietly and swiftly re- 
moved his forces to another scene of action. 

Meantime in the far east of the province the patriots 
besieged the fort at Sabana and would have forced its 
surrender had not Spanish reenforcements arrived from 
Baracoa for its relief. The fort was destroyed, however, 
and the place had to be abandoned by the Spanish. Also 
at Baire, where the revolution began, Jesus Rabi cap- 
tured a Spanish fort and its garrison. Everywhere 
throughout Oriente the Spaniards were on the defensive, 
while in every other province, even in Pinar del Rio, the 
revolution was ominously gaining strength. 


CHAPTER IV 


IT now seemed opportune to effect a more complete 
organization of the civil government of the Cuban Repub- 
lic, and for that purpose a convention was held in the 
Valley of the Yara, at which on July 15 a Declaration of 
Cuban Independence was proclaimed, and on August 7, 
near Camaguey the action of May 18 was confirmed and 
amplified, Bartolome Maso being retained as President; 
Maximo Gomez as Vice-President and Minister of War; 
Salvador Cisneros as Minister of the Interior; Gonzalo 
Quesada as Secretary for Foreign Affairs, with residence 
in the United States; Antonio Maceo as General in Chief 
of the Army; and Jose Maceo as Commander of the Army 
of Oriente. 

This was not, however, a finality. A national Consti- 
tutional Convention was called, at Najasa, near Guia- 
maro, in the Province of Camaguey, at which were pres- 
ent regularly elected representatives from all six provinces 
of the island. It afterward removed to Anton, in the 
same province, where it completed its labors on September 
23, when the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba was 
completed and promulgated. Salvador Cisneros y 
Betancourt, Marquis of Santa Lucia, was chosen by ac- 
clamation to preside over the deliberations of this im- 
portant body, and associated with him were the ablest and 
best minds of the Cuban nation. 

This Constitution provided for the government of Cuba 
by a Council of Ministers, until such time as the achieve- 
ment of independence and the signing of a treaty of peace 
with Spain should make it practicable for a Legislative 

47 


48 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Assembly to be convoked and to meet for the performance 
of its functions. The Council of Ministers was to con- 
sist of six members: a President, Vice-President, and 
Secretaries of War, Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Treas- 
ury. This Council was to have full governmental pow- 
ers, both legislative and administrative, civil and mili- 
tary; to levy taxes, contract loans, raise and equip armies, 
declare reprisals against the enemy when necessary, and 
in the last resort to control the military operations of the 
Commander in Chief. Treaties were to be made by the 
President and ratified by the Council. It was provided, 
however, that the treaty of peace with Spain, when made, 
must be ratified not only by the Council but also by the 
National Legislative Assembly which was then to be or- 
ganized. No decree of the Council was valid unless ap- 
proved by four of the six members, including the Presi- 
dent. The President had power to dissolve the Council, 
in which case a new Council had to be formed within ten 
days. It was required that all Cubans should be obliged 
to serve the republic personally or with their property, as 
they might be able. But all property of foreigners was 
to be exempt from taxation or other levy, provided that 
their governments recognized the belligerency of Cuba. 
It was provided that there should be a national judiciary 
entirely independent of the legislature and executive. 
Under this system the Council was organized as fol- 
lows: President, Salvador Cisneros y Betancourt, of 
Camaguey; Vice-President, Bartolome Maso, of Man- 
zanillo, Oriente; Secretaries—of War, Carlos Roloff, of 
Santa Clara; of Foreign Affairs, Rafael Portuondo, of 
Santiago; of the Treasury, Severa Pina, of Sancti Spiri- 
tus; of the Interior, Santiago J. Canizares, of Los Reme- 
dios. Each Secretary appointed his own Deputy, who 
should have full power when taking his chief’s place, as 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 49 


follows: War, Mario G. Menocal, of Matanzas; For- 
eign Affairs, Fermin G. Dominguez; Treasury, Joaquin 
Castillo Duany, of Santiago; Interior, Carlos Dubois, of 
Baracoa. The Commander in Chief was Maximo 
Gomez; the Lieutenant-General, or Vice-Commander in 
Chief was Antonio Maceo, and the Major Generals were 
Jose Maceo, Maso Capote, Serafin Sanchez, and Fuerto 
Rodriguez. Tomas Estrada Palma was minister pleni- 
potentiary and diplomatic agent abroad. Later Bar- 
tolome Maso and General de Castillo were made special 
envoys to the United States. 

Salvador Cisneros, the President, has already been 
frequently mentioned in this history. He came of dis- 
tinguished ancestry, the names of Cisneros and Betan- 
court frequently occupying honorable places in the annals 
of Cuba. Born in 1832, he was by this time past the 
prime of life, but he was just as zealous and efficient in 
the cause of Cuban freedom as he was when he sacrificed 
his title of Marquis of Santa Lucia, and sacrificed his 
estates, too, which were confiscated by the Spanish gov- 
ernment, when he joined the Ten Years’ War, later to 
succeed the martyred Cespedes as President. Of Bar- 
tolome Maso, too, we have spoken much. He also was 
advanced in years, having been born in 1831, and he, 
too, had served through the Ten Years’ War and had in 
consequence of his patriotism lost all his estates. 

Carlos Roloff, the Secretary of War, was a Pole, who 
had come to Cuba in his youth and settled at Cienfuegos; 
bringing with him the passionate love of freedom which 
had long been characteristic of the Poles. He fought 
through the Ten Years’ War and gained distinction 
therein, by his valor and military skill. 

Mario G. Menocal, the Assistant Secretary of War, was 
a native of Jaguey Grande, Matanzas, at this time only 


50 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


twenty-nine years old. He came of a family eminent in 
Cuban history, and indeed in the history of North Amer- 
ica, since he was a nephew of that A. G. Menocal who 
was perhaps the most distinguished and efficient of all the 
engineers and surveyors for the EES S 
Isthmian Canal schemes, both at A 
Nicaragua and Panama. He 
himself was, even thus early in 
life, one of the foremost engi- 
neers of Cuba. 

Rafael Portuondo y Tamayo, 
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 
was another young man—born 7; Y/: 
at Santiago in 1867—of distin- if Lye 
guished family and high ability,  AN1CET0 o. hh 
His Assistant Secretary, Fermin Valdes Dominguez, was 
one of the most eminent physicians of Havana, and was 
one of those students who, as hitherto related, were falsely 
accused by the Volunteers of desecrating an officer’s 
grave. He escaped the fate of shooting, which was 
meted out to one in every five of his comrades, but was 
sent to life-long penal servitude at Ceuta. After the 
Treaty of Zanjon he was released and returned to Ha- 
vana, where he attained great distinction in his profes- 
sion. 

Severa Pina, Secretary of the Treasury, belonged to one 
of the oldest families of Sancti Spiritus. His Assistant, 
Dr. Joaquin Castillo Duany, has already been mentioned 
as one of the organizers of the Cuban Junta in New York. 
He had served on the United States Naval relief expedi- 
tion which went to the Arctic regions in quest of the sur- 
vivors of the Jeannette exploring expedition. 

Santiago J. Canizares, Secretary of the Interior, was 
one of the foremost citizens of Los Remedios, and his 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 51 


Assistant, Carlos Dubois, enjoyed similar rank at Bara- 
coa. 

Meantime Martinez Campos was straining every effort 
to fulfil his promise of victory. At the middle of July 
he had nearly 40,000 regular infantry, more than 2,500 
cavalry, more than 1,000 artillery and engineers, 4,400 
civil guards, 2,700 marines, and nearly 1,200 guerrillas. 
His navy comprised 15 vessels, to which were to be added 
six which were approaching completion in Spain and 19 
which were being purchased of other European nations. 
Thus his troops outnumbered the Cubans by just about 
two to one. For the latter aggregated only 24,000, of 
whom 12,000 were under Maceo in Oriente, 9,000 in 
Camaguey under Gomez, and 3,000 under Roloff and 
Sanchez in Santa Clara. In August large reenforcements 
for Campos arrived from Spain, and they were no longer, 
as before, half trained boys, but were the very flower of 
the Spanish army. They brought the total that had been 
sent to Cuba up to 80,000, of whom 60,000 were regular 
infantry. However, probably between 18,000 and 20,- 
000 must be subtracted from those figures, for killed, de- 
serted, and died of yellow fever and other diseases. But 
even if thus reduced to 60,000, the Spanish were still 
twice as many as the Cubans, who had increased their 
forces to not more than 30,000. 

The plans of campaign gave the Cubans, however, a 
great advantage. Fully half of the Spaniards had to re- 
main on garrison duty in the cities and towns, especially 
along the coast, so that the number free to take the field 
against the Cubans was no greater than that of the latter. 
With numbers anywhere near equal, the Cubans were al- 
most sure to win, because of their superior morale and 
their better knowledge of the country. 

The Cubans suffered much, it is true, from lack of sup- 


52 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


plies, and this lack became the more marked and grievous 
as the Spaniards increased their naval forces and drew 
tighter and tighter their double cordon of vessels around 
the island. Several costly expeditions which were fitted 
out in the United States during the year came to grief, 
being either restrained from sailing by the United States 
authorities or intercepted and captured by the Spanish. 
One such vessel, fully laden with valuable supplies, was 
seized at the mouth of the Delaware River, as it was set- 
ting out for Cuba, and the cargo was confiscated. The 
company of Cubans in command of the vessel were ar- 
rested and brought to trial, but were acquitted since the 
mere exportation of arms and ammunition in an unarmed 
merchant vessel was no violation of law. Far different 
was the fate of any such who were captured by the Span- 
ish at the other end of the voyage, as they were approach- 
ing the Cuban coast. The mildest fate they could expect 
was a term of many years of penal servitude at Ceuta. 
Such ‘was the sentence imposed upon sailors who were 
guilty of nothing more than smuggling the contraband 
goods into Cuba. As for Juan Gualberto Gomez and his 
comrades in an expedition which presumptively was in- 
tended for fighting as well as smuggling, twenty years at 
Ceuta was their sentence. 

During the summer of 1895 a severe but necessary 
order was issued by the Cuban commander in chief. 
This, addressed to the people of Camaguey Province, 
directed the cessation of all plantation work, save such 
as was necessary for the food supply of the families there 
resident; and also strictly forbade the supplying of any 
food to the Spanish garrisons in the towns and cities. 
Disobedience to these orders, it was plainly stated, would 
mean the destruction of the offending plantation. It was 
the purpose of General Gomez to deprive the Spaniards 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 53 


of all local supplies and make them dependent upon ship- 
ments of food, even, from Spain. ‘This meant, no doubt, 
much hardship to the Cuban people. But there was little 
complaint, and it was seldom that the rule was violated. 
Whenever a flagrant violation was detected, the torch was 
applied, and canefield and buildings were reduced to 
ashes. There was also much destruction of railroads, 
bridges, telegraph lines and what not, to deprive the 
Spanish of means of transport and communication. It 
was a fine demonstration of the patriotism of the Cuban 
people that they almost universally acquiesced in this 
plan of campaign, without demur and without repining, 
although it of course meant heavy loss and untold incon- 
venience and often severe suffering, tothem. They real- 
ized that they were at war, and that war was not to be 
waged with lace fans and rosewater. 

At the end of September, after the close of the Consti- 
tutional Convention, preparations were made for renew- 
ing the military campaign with more aggressive vigor. 
Jose.Maceo was assigned to the command of the eastern 
part of Oriente, General Capote and General Sanchez 
took respectively the northern and southern parts of the 
western half, and General Rodriguez led the advance into 
Camaguey. Maximo Gomez himself accompanied Rod- 
riguez’s army, and was presently joined by Antonio 
Maceo, and together they planned the great campaign of 
the war, which was conceived by Gomez and executed by 
Maceo. This was nothing less than the extension of the 
war into every province and indeed every district and vil- 
lage of the island, by marching westward from Oriente to 
the further end of Pinar del Rio. 

Early in October Antonio Maceo set out to join Gomez 
in Camaguey, taking with him 4,000 infantry and 2,000 
cavalry. At San Nicolas he suffered a setback at the 


54 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


hands of General Aldave and a superior force of Span- 
iards, but resolutely continued his progress. Gomez 
meanwhile pushed on into Santa Clara, established head- 
quarters near Las Tunas, where ‘the could be in touch with 
expeditions from Jamaica, and began the aggressive 
against the Spaniards around Sancti Spiritus. Roloff, 
meanwhile, was operating at the northern part of the 
province, at Vueltas. Martinez Campos himself was in 
the field near Sancti Spiritus, but failed to check the 
Cuban advance. In fact, at almost every point the cam- 
paign was going steadily against the Spanish; so much 
against them that Campos feared to let the truth be known 
to the world. Accordingly he issued a decree forbidding 
the publication of any news concerning the war save that 
which was officially given out at his headquarters or by 
his chief of staff at Havana. Only Spanish and foreign 
—no Cuban—correspondents were permitted to accom- 
pany the army, and they only on their compliance with 
the rules. 

Still Campos appeared to cherish the thought that he 
could end the war by compromise, through pursuing a 
policy of leniency toward at least the rank and file of the 
insurgents; and in this he had the support of the Madrid 
government. ‘That government had staked its all upon 
him, and was naturally disposed to give him a free hand 
and to approve everything that he did. However, it in- 
sisted that the rebellion must be crushed and that no fur- 
ther reforms for Cuba could be considered until that was 
done. It was feeling the strain of the war severely, espe- 
cially since its last loan for war funds had to be placed at 
more than fifty per cent discount. 

October was a disastrous month for the Spanish at sea. 
One of their gunboats was wrecked on a key, and another, 
which had just beep purchased in the United States, was 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 55 


boarded and seized by a party of revolutionists in the 
Cauto River, stripped of all its guns and ammunition, and 
disabled and scuttled. General Enrique Collazo, who 
earlier in the season had several times been baffled in 
such attempts, at last got away from Florida with a 
strong party of Cubans and Americans and effected a 
safe landing in Cuba. A little later Carlos Manuel de 
Cespedes did the same, bringing a large cargo of arms. 
Two expeditions also came from Canada, under General 
Francisco Carillo and Colonel Jose Maria Aguirre. The 
- latter, by the way, was an American citizen who had been 
arrested in Havana at the very beginning of the war, 
along with Julio Sanguilly, but was released at the very 
urgent insistence of the United States government. San- 
guilly, who was suspected by some Cubans of having be- 
trayed their cause, was held, tried, and condemned to 
life imprisonment; a fact which cleared him of suspicion 
- of complicity with the Spaniards. 

Maceo advanced through Camaguey and on November 
12 reached Las Villas with an army of 8,000 men. 
Gomez had meanwhile moved northward almost to the 
Gulf coast, and was operating with 5,000 men between 
Los Remedios and Sagua la Grande, where he joined 
forces with Sanchez, who had marched westward, and 
with Roloff, Suarez, Cespedes and Collazo. He estab- 
lished headquarters near the Matanzas border, where ‘he 
was in touch with Lacret, Matagas and other guerrilla 
leaders who were actively engaged in the latter province. 
In that same month Maceo fought a pitched battle with 
General Navarro, near Santa Clara, and a few days later 
Gomez similarly fought General Suarez Valdes in the 
same region. These were two of the greatest battles of 
the war, in point of numbers engaged and losses suffered, 
and were both handsomely won by the Cubans. 


56 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


In view of these losses, Campos welcomed the arrival 
of 30,000 additional troops from Spain, under General 
Pando and General Marin. He also resorted to recruit- 
ing troops in some of the South American countries, par- 
ticularly in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, thinking to 
find them hardier and better able to endure the climate 
and the hardships of Cuba than men from the Peninsula. 
Such recruiting was not regarded with favor in those coun- 
tries, where sympathy was generally on the side of the 
Cubans; but a considerable number of adventurers were 
found who were willing to serve for good pay as soldiers 
of fortune. More and more, too, the Spanish soldiery 
indulged in excesses against the inhabitants of Cuba as 
well as against the revolutionists in the field, and the con- 
flict showed symptoms of degenerating into the savagery 
which marked it at a later date. It is to be recalled to 
the credit of Campos that he resisted all such tendencies, 
and that he indeed sent back to Spain two prominent 
Generals, Bazan and Salcedo, because of their barbarous 
methods and their criticisms of his humanity. General 
Pando, on arriving with the fresh troops from Spain, was 
placed in command at Santiago; General Marin was as- 
signed to Santa Clara; General Mella operated in Cama- 
guey; and General Arderius was charged with the hope- 
less task of guarding Matanzas, Havana and Pinar del 
Rio from invasion by the revolutionists. 

The Cuban government, of President Cisneros and his 
colleagues, established its headquarters at Las Tunas, and 
there approved another military proclamation by the 
Commander in Chief, ordering the burning of all cane 
fields and the laying waste of all plantations which were 
providing or were likely to provide supplies to the Span- 
iards, and threatening with death all persons found giving 
the Spaniards aid or comfort. One notable blow was 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA ST 


struck at the south, before the final advance was made to- 
ward Havana and the west. This was at the middle of 
December. (Campos himself was at Cienfuegos, with 
20,000 troops, and Gomez and Maceo decided to give 
him battle. The redoubtable negro farmer, Quintin Ban- 
dera, from Oriente, who at the age of sixty-three years 
had become one of the most agile, daring and successful 
guerrilla leaders, raided the Spanish lines and drew out 
a considerable force, upon which the Cubans fell at Mal 
Tiempo, thirty miles north of Cienfuegos. Only a couple 
of thousand men were engaged on each side, but it was one 
of the most significant battles of the war, because it was 
the first in which the Cubans relied upon the machete, 
and the result of the experiment made that fearful weapon 
thereafter their favorite arm, particularly in cavalry 
charges, and it struck a terror into the hearts of the Span- 
ish soldiers such as nothing else could do. The machete 
was an enormous knife, as long as a cavalry sabre or 
longer, with a single edge as sharp as a razor on a blade 
almost as heavy as the head of a woodsman’s axe. It 
had been used on sugar plantations, for cutting cane, and 
was so heavy that a single stroke was sufficient to cut 
throught half a dozen of the thickest canes. Swung by 
the expert and sinewy arm of a Cuban soldier, it would 
sever a man’s head from his body, or cut off an arm or leg, 
as surely as the blade of a guillotine. At Mal Tiempo a 
whole company of Spanish regulars was set upon by 
Cuban horsemen armed with nothing but machetes, and 
every one of them was killed. 

Turning swiftly away from Mal Tiempo, where they 
had both been present, Gomez and Maceo led their troops 
swiftly to the northwest and before Campos realized what 
their objective was they were raiding and defeating Span- 
ish troops around Colon, in the east central part of the 


58 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Province of Matanzas, between Campos and Havana. 
The distracted Captain-General hastened thither and, 
learning that they were retiring eastward toward the town 
of Santo Domingo, in Santa Clara, directed his course 
thither; only to find himself outwitted by the Cubans who 
had really moved further toward Colon. At last he 
came into contact with them, and with Emilio Nunez who 
had joined them, near the little village of Coliseo, and 
there he was badly worsted in the fight, and came near to 
losing his life, his adjutant being shot and killed at his 
side. The coming of night saved him from further 
losses. But then the Cubans, pursuing Fabian tactics, 
withdrew to Jaguey Grande, in Santa Clara, well content 
with their achievement, where they took counsel over 
plans for the great drive which was to carry them through 
Matanzas and Havana clear into Pinar del Rio. \ 
Campos made the best of his way hastily back to Ha- 
vana, in a far different frame of mind from that in which 
he had come to Cuba eight months before. He had at 
that time in the island more than 100,000 troops in active 
service. Since his appointment as Captain-General 
nearly 80,000 men had been sent thither from Spain. 
In addition there were the Volunteers, or what was left 
of them. According to Spanish authorities at Havana 
at that time the Volunteers numbered 63,000. True, 
they would not take the field. But they were serviceable 
for police and garrison duty in cities and towns, thus 
permitting all the regular army to be put into the field. 
The same authorities declared that with the Volunteers, 
marines and all other branches, Campos had at his dis- 
posal 189,000 men. It is probable that the entire force 
under Gomez and Maceo in that first invasion of Matan- 
zas did not exceed 10,000 men. ‘These things gave 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 59 


“Spain’s greatest General” much food for thought; not of 
the most agreeable kind. 

It gave others food for thought; the Spanish Loyalists 
of both Constitutionalist and Reformist predilections, and 
the dwindling but still resolute body of Cuban Autonom- 
ists. ‘The last-named were at this desperate conjuncture 
of affairs Campos’s best friends. The Constitutional- 
ists were hostile to him. They had from the first disap- 
proved his moderate and humane methods, wishing to re- 
turn to the savagery of Valmaseda in the Ten Years’ War. 
The Reformists were hesitant; they had little faith in 
Campos, yet they doubted the expedience of openly re- 
pudiating him. The Autonomists, having faith in his 
sincerity, respecting his humanity, and deploring the 
devastation and ruin which was befalling Cuba, urged 
that he should be supported loyally in at least one last 
effort to pacify the island and abate the horrors of civil 
war. 

The intellectual and moral power of the Autonomists 
carried the day. The Reformists first and then the Con- 
stitutionalists agreed to join them in making a demon- 
stration of loyalty and confidence to the Captain-General, 
to cheer and sustain him in the depression—almost de- 
spair—which he was certainly suffering. So the repre- 
sentatives of all three factions appeared publicly before 
Campos. For the Constitutionalists, Santos Guzman 
spoke; an intense reactionary, who could not altogether 
conceal his feelings of disapproval of Campos’s liberal 
course, or his realization of the desperate plight in which 
the country was at that time. But he made an impas- 
sioned pledge of the loyalty of his party to the Captain- 
General. For the Autonomists, Dr. Rafael Montoro was 
the spokesman, one of the foremost orators and scholars 


60 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


of the Spanish-speaking world. He had been a Cuban 
Senator in the Spanish Cortes, and perhaps more than any 
other man in Cuba commanded the respect and confidence 
of all parties, Spanish and Cuban alike. He also 
pledged to Campos the unwavering support of the Auto- 
nomists in what he believed sincerely to be the best policy 
for both Cuba and Spain. A representative of the Re- 
formists spoke to the same effect. Then Campos re- 
sponded with a frank confession that he had meditated 
resignation, fearing that he had lost the united confidence 
of the various parties; but that after this demonstration of 
loyalty, he would continue his military and civil adminis- 
tration with restored hope of success in pacifying the 
island. 

We have called the Autonomists at this time the best 
friends of Campos. It might be possible, however, to 
argue successfully that they were his worst friends, or 
at least badly mistaken friends. It might have been bet- 
ter, that is to say, for him to have persisted in retirement 
at that time, instead of merely postponing the day of 
wrath. For his renewed efforts either to crush or to 
pacify the revolutionists were vain. At the very moment 
when he was gratefully listening to those pledges of loyal 
support, Gomez and Maceo were pushing unrelentingly 
forward, not merely through Matanzas but far into Ha- 
vana province itself. And like Israel of old, they were 
guided or accompanied by a pillar of fire by night and a 
pillar of cloud by day. The plantations near the capital 
were sources of supply for the Spanish, and they must be 
destroyed. It seemed savage to doom canefields and fac- 
tories to the torch. But it was more humane to do that 
and thus make the island uninhabitable for the Span- 
iards, than to lose myriads of lives in battle. Moreover, 
the destruction of the sugar crop, then ripe for harvest, 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 61 


would do more than anything else to cripple the financial 
resources of Spain in the island. All Spain wanted of 
Cuba, said Gomez, grimly but truly, was what she could 
get out of it. Therefore if she was prevented from get- 
ting anything out of it she would no longer desire it but 
would let it go. 

So night after night “the midnight sky was red” with 
the glow of blazing canefields and factories, and day 
after day the tropic sun was half obscured by rolling 
clouds of smoke from the same conflagrations; while be- 
- hind them the advancing armies left a broad swath of 
blackened desolation, above which gaunt, tall chimneys 
towered solitary, above twisted and ruined machinery, 
grim monuments of the passing of the destroyer. Day 
after day the inexorable terror rolled toward the capital. 
On the last day of the year the vanguard of the patriot 
army was at Marianao, only ten miles from Havana, and 
every railroad leading out of the city was either cut or 
had suspended operations. Two days later Campos pro- 
claimed martial law and a state of siege in the Provinces 
of Havana and Pinar del Rio. Thus the new year 
opened with the entire island involved in the War of 
Independence. Nor was it merely a nominal state of 
war. Already Pinar del Rio was overrun by bands of 
Cuban irregulars, who destroyed the cane fields of Span- 
ish Loyalists and ravaged the tobacco plantations of the 
famous Vuelta Abajo. But this was not enough. On 
January 5, 1896, Gomez, leaving Maceo and Quintin 
Bandera to hold Campos in check at Havana, drove 
straight at the centre of the Spanish line which strove 
to bar his progress westward, broke through it, and 
marched his whole army into Pinar del Rio. 

That was the beginning of the end for Campos. In 
desperation he flung all available troops in a line across 


62 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the western part of Havana Province, vainly hoping, 
since he had not been able thus to keep him out of Pinar 
del Rio, that thus he could keep Gomez shut up in that 
province, deprived of supplies or succor. Meantime he 
sent three of his ablest generals, Luque, Navarro and © 
Valdez, into the western province, in hope of capturing 
Gomez. But the wily Cuban chieftain played with 
them, marching and countermarching at will and wearing 
them out, until he had completed his work there. Then 
as if to show his scorn at Campos’s military barriers, he 
burst out of Pinar del Rio and reentered Havana, sweep- 
ing like a besom of wrath through the southern part of 
that province, and defeating the army of Suarez Valdez 
near Batabano. Then, while all the Spanish columns 
were in full cry after Gomez, Maceo crossed the border 
into Pinar del Rio at the north, and marched along the 
coast as far as Cabanas, destroying several towns on his 
way. 

From Batabano the Cubans under Gomez and Angel 
Guerra turned northward again, and by January 12 were 
at Managuas, in the outskirts of Havana, from which 
the sound of firing could be heard in the capital itself. 
The railroads had been stopped before, and now all tele- 
graph communication with Havana was cut, save that 
by submarine cable. The city was not merely in a tech- 
nical state of siege but was actually besieged, and if Jose 
Maceo and Jesus Rabi, who were on the eastern border 
of the province, had been able promptly to join Gomez 
and Bandera, Havana would probably have been cap- 
tured. In this state of affairs the Spanish inhabitants 
of the city were frantic with fear, and with faultfinding 
against Campos for his inability to protect them from 
the revolutionists. ‘The Volunteers mutinied outright, 
refusing to serve longer under his orders unless he would 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 63 


alter his policy to one of extreme severity. The Spanish 
political leaders openly inveighed against him. 

In these circumstances Campos invited the leaders of 
the various parties, the very men who shortly before had 
pledged their support to him, to meet him again for a 
conference. ‘They came, but in a different spirit from 
before. Santos Guzman was first to speak. He de- 
clared that the Constitutionalists had lost confidence in 
the Captain-General and did not approve his policy, 
and that they could no longer support him. The spokes- 
man of the Reformists was less violent of phrase but no 
less hostile in intent and purport. From neither of the 
factions of the Spanish party could Campos hope for 
further support. ‘There remained the Cuban Autono- 
mists, and with a constancy which would have been sub- 
lime if only it had been exercised in a better cause, they 
reaffirmed their loyalty to Campos and to his policy and 
renewed their pledges of support. But this was in vain. 
Campos realized that a Spanish Captain-General who 
had not the support and confidence of the Spanish party 
would be an impossible anomaly. He would not resign, 
but hhe reported to Madrid the state of affairs, and placed 
himself, like a good soldier, at the commands of the goy- 
ernment; excepting that he would not change his policy 
for one of ruthless severity. If he was to remain in 
Cuba, his policy of conciliation, in cooperation with the 
Autonomists, must be maintained. 

The answer was not delayed. On January 17 a mes- 
sage came from Madrid, directing Campos to turn over 
his authority to General Sabas Marin, who would exer- 
cise it until a permanent successor could be appointed and 
could arrive; and to return forthwith to Spain. Of 
course there was nothing for him to do but to obey. In 
relinquishing his office to his temporary successor he 


64 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


spoke strongly in defence of the policy which he had pur- 
sued. Later, out of office, he talked with much bitter- 
ness of the political conspiracies which had been formed 
against him by the Spaniards of Cuba, of their moral 
treason to the cause of Spain, and of the sordid tyranny 
which they exercised. He declared that Spain herself 
was at fault for the Cuban revolution, which never would 
have occurred if the island had been treated as an in- 
tegral province of Spain and not as a subject and en- 
slaved country; and he prophesied that the verdict of 
history would be, as it had been in the case of Central 
and South America, that Spain had lost her American 
empire through the perverse faults of the Spaniards 
themselves. “My successor,” he added, “will fail.” 
Three days later he sailed for Spain. 


CHAPTER V 


THE administration of General Marin lasted only a 
few weeks, but it was marked with strenuous doings. 
His first effort was to do what Campos had failed to do, 
namely, to maintain an impassable barrier between 
Pinar del Rio and Havana. He massed troops on the 
line between Havana and Batabano, and took command 
himself at the centre, hoping to draw Maceo into a gen- 
eral engagement. But Maceo sent Perico Diaz with 
1,400 men from Artemisia to create a diversion just north 
of the centre, which was done very effectively, Diaz and 
General Jil drawing a large Spanish force into a trap 
and inflicting terrible slaughter with a cavalry machete 
charge. Taking advantage of this, Maceo with a small 
detachment easily crossed the trocha at the south. At 
once the Spanish forces all rushed in that direction, to 
head off Maceo and to prevent him from joining Gomez, 
whereupon the remainder of Maceo’s troops crossed the 
trocha at the centre and north. After raiding Havana 
Province at will, and capturing fresh supplies, Maceo 
returned to Pinar del Rio, fought and won a pitched bat- 
tle at Paso Real, won another at Candelaria, where the 
Spanish General Cornell was killed, and captured the 
city of Jaruco and its forts with 80 guns. 

By this time the new Captain-General had arrived. 
This was General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau; the man 
most of all desired—and indeed earnestly asked for—by 
the Volunteers and other extremists among the Spanish 


party in Cuba, the man most undesired by the Autono- 
65 


66 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


mists, and the man most hated by the Cuban revolution- 
ists. He had made himself unspeakably odious in the 
Ten Years’ War as the chief aid of Valmaseda in his 
savage outrages, and he was confidently expected to renew 
in Cuba the aes of that campaign; as he did. Upon 
= the announcement of his ap- 
pointment the Autonomists 
largely abandoned hope of any 
amicable arrangement, and those 
of them who were mayors or 
Z ZA other officers promptly resigned 
) = 2 their places, being unwilling to 
ne WS i serve under him. Many of 
. \\\ \ them left Cuba~ altogether, 
dreading the horrors which they 
ETL a knew were impending. As for 
the masses of the Cuban people, they flocked to the 
standard of the revolution in greater numbers than be- 
fore. Within a month after Weyler’s arrival at Havana, 
more than 15,000 fresh recruits were following the ban- 
ners of Gomez and Maceo. 

It was on February 10 that Weyler landed in Cuba. 
He promptly issued a number of decrees addressed to 
both the Spanish Loyalists and the Cuban Revolutionists. 
He chided the former for their indifference and fears, 
warned them that they must expect to make sacrifices and 
endure sufferings, and demanded of them that they 
should themselves undertake the guardianship of their 
cities and towns so as to release all his troops for service 
in the field. The latter he threatened with all possible 
pains and penalties if they persisted in their contumacy. 
Death or life imprisonment was to be the fate of all who 
circulated news unfavorable to the government, who in- 
terfered with the operation of railroads, telegraphs or 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 67. 


telephones, who by word of mouth disparaged Spain or 
Spanish soldiers or praised the enemy, who aided the 
enemy in any way, or who failed to help the government 
and to injure the revolutionists at every opportunity. 
All inhabitants of Oriente, Camaguey and the district of 
Sancti Spiritus in Santa Clara were required to register 
at military headquarters and receive permits to go about 
their business. Later he ordered all persons living in 
rural districts to move into fortified towns, and confis- 
cated the property of all who were absent from their 
_ homes without leave. It should be added that at the be- 
ginning of his administration he sought to curb and 
even reproved and punished the cruelties of his sub- 
ordinates. 

In spite of the repudiation of Campos and his policy 
of pacification, and the accession of Weyler and his pol- 
icy of severity, the Spanish Prime Minister, Canovas del 
Castillo, determined to make another attempt at amic- 
able settlement. Elections for a new Cortes were to be 
held, and he directed that they should be held in Cuba 
as well as in the Peninsula. To that end it was de- 
sirable to raise the state of siege in at least the three 
western provinces, and on March 8 Weyler issued an 
order which he hoped would conduce to that end. The 
civil guard, or rural military police, was to be restored 
to duty, amnesty was offered to all insurgents who sur- 
rendered within fifteen days and who had not been guilty 
of burning or confiscating property, and all others were 
to be treated as bandits, to be put summarily to death. 
All loyal inhabitants were required actively to assist in 
repairing railroads, telegraph lines, etc. A similar 
proclamation was issued for the other provinces. 

The elections were set for April 12, and were then 
held. The Reformist faction of Spaniards refused to 


68 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


take part in them, not approving the policy of Weyler. 
The Cuban Autonomists also refused to vote, or to nomi- 
nate candidates, excepting for Deputies from the Uni- 
versity of Havana and the Economical Society of Ha- 
vana. ‘They did this at great risk to themselves, because 
Weyler after trying persuasions resorted to the most 
ominous threats against them if they would not take 
part in the elections, and there really was much danger 
that at least their leaders would be arrested and im- 
prisoned for treason. The outcome was that only Con- 
stitutionalists voted, and only their candidates were 
elected; representing an insignificant fraction of the 
Cuban people. 

Meantime the war raged unceasingly. Having failed 
to keep the Cubans from invading Pinar del Rio, and 
then from emerging from that province, Weyler again 
formed a trocha from Havana to Batabano to prevent 
them from moving further east. But both Gomez and 
Maceo broke through, the former marching into the heart 
of Matanzas and playing havoc with the sugar planta- 
tions, and the latter going southward to the Cienaga de 
Zapata and thence into Santa Clara, where he received 
strong reenforcements from Oriente and Camaguey. 
Then, when Weyler was massing his troops in Santa 
Clara, Maceo with 10,000 men swept back to the very 
gates of Havana. With the adoption of Weyler’s policy 
as announced in his proclamations, the war became a 
campaign of destruction on both sides, each burning 
towns in order that they might not be occupied by the 
other. In this fashion in a few weeks there were burned 
or laid in ruins in Pinar del Rio the towns of Cabanaz, 
Cayajabos, Vinales, Palacios, San Juan Martinez, Mon- 
tezuelo, Los Arroyos, Cuano, San Diego, Nunez, Bahia 
Honda, Hacha and Quiobra; in Havana there perished 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 69 


La Catalina, San Nicolas, Nueva Paz, Bejucal, Jaruco, 
Wajay, Melena and Bainoa; in Matanzas, Los Ramos, 
Macagua, Roque, San Jose and Torriente; and in Santa 
Clara, Amaro, Flora, Mata, Maltiempo, Ranchuelo, Sala- 
manca and San Juan. Many other towns were partially 
destroyed. On March 13 Maceo attacked Batabano, one 
of the most strongly defended Spanish coast towns, took 
50 guns and much ammunition, and destroyed the town. 
Nine days later Gomez sent troops into the city of Santa 
Clara, and captured 240,000 rounds of ammunition. 
He established his headquarters so near Las Cruces that 
General Pando fled from that place to Cienfuegos; for 
whicli-cowardice he was recalled to Spain, as were sev- 
eral other generals. Maceo, after his exploit at Bata- 
bano, returned to Pinar del Rio, routed General Linares 
at Candelaria and another Spanish army at Cayajibaos, 
and destroyed part of the town of Pinar del Rio. 
Filibustering was now rife. In spite of the vigilance 
of the United States government and of the Spanish navy, 
numerous expeditions carried men and arms to the 
Cuban patriots. Those which were successful were little 
heard of by the public, while those which failed often 
attracted much attention. General Calixto Garcia, one 
of the most resolute and daring veterans of the Ten 
Years’ War, sent one on the steamer Hawkins, which was 
lost at sea. He organized another on the British steamer 
Bermuda, which was detained by the United States au- 
thorities on February 24, and he was arrested and tried 
for “organizing a military expedition,” but was ac- 
quitted. A little later he reorganized the expedition and 
reached Cuba with it in safety. Enrique Collazo and 
others sent an expedition from Cedar Keys on the Stephen 
R. Mallory, which was detained, for a time, but finally 
got off and landed most of the cargo in Matanzas. The 


70 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Danish steamer Horsa was seized by the United States 
authorities for carrying a military expedition. The 
Commodore carried a cargo of arms safely from Charles- 
ton, S. C. The Bermuda took another expedition from 
Jacksonville under Col. Vidal and Col. Torres, but was 
attacked by a Spanish gunboat before all the cargo was 
landed, and took to flight, throwing the rest of the cargo 
overboard. Other successful expeditions in the early 
part of 1896 were five on the steamer Three Friends, one 
of which was led by Julian Zarraga and one by Dr. Joa- 
quin Castillo Duany; three on the Laurada, of which one 
was led by Juan Fernandez Ruiz and one by Rafael Por- 
tuondo; several led by Rafael Cabrera, one by General 
Carlos Roloff, and one by Juan Ruiz Rivera. One 
came from France, under Fernando Freyre y Andrade, 
bringing 5,000 rifles and 1,000,000 cartridges. Pres- 
ident Cleveland issued a warning, that all violators 
of the United States neutrality laws would be prose- 
cuted and severely punished, and General Weyler of- 
fered large rewards for information leading to the capture 
of such expeditions, but the chief effect was to stimu- 
late Cuban patriots to greater efforts, if also to increased 
precautions. 

Much attention was meanwhile paid to Cuban affairs 
by the United States government, not only in trying to 
check filibustering but also in looking after the rights— 
and wrongs—of American citizens, and also in seeking 
an ending of a war which was commercially ruinous and 
humanely most distressing. Several joint resolutions 
were introduced in the Congress at Washington, for rec- 
ognizing the Cubans as belligerents, for inquiry into the 
state and conditions of the war, for intervention, and for 
recognizing the independence of the Cuban Republic. 
There were finally adopted on April 6 resolutions favor- 


THE HISTORY, OF CUBA 71 


ing recognition of Cuban belligerency and the tender of 
good offices for the settlement of the war on the basis of 
Cuban independence. It was of course necessarily left 
to the discretion of the President to execute these designs. 
He did not deem it expedient to recognize Cuban bellig- 
erence, but he did promptly, on April 9, direct the Amer- 
ican Minister at Madrid to make the tender of good of- 
fices for ending the war on the basis of reforms which 
would be satisfactory to the Cuban people. True, it had 
been made clear that the great mass of the Cuban people 
-would accept nothing short of independence; but the 
American Secretary of State, Mr. Olney, believed that if 
a genuine measure of Home Rule were granted and put 
into effect, the Cubans and their friends in the United 
States would withdraw their support from the revolution 
and thus constrain the revolutionists to yield and accept 
the compromise. To this overture of the United States 
government Spain made no reply; nor did it to a similar 
suggestion offered by the Pope. But Tomas Estrada 
Palma, speaking for the Cuban Junta in New York and 
for Cubans and Cuban sympathizers throughout the 
United States, declared that they were not at all inter- 
ested in any such scheme, and that they would consider 
nothing short of absolute independence. 

The Spanish government did, indeed, consider a 
scheme of so-called autonomy, somewhat resembling that 
of Senor Abarzuza at the beginning of the war; but in 
the speech from the throne at the opening of the Cortes 
on May 11 it was frankly recognized that the revolution- 
ists would accept nothing short of independence, and that 
therefore it would be expedient to attempt any such re- 
forms until the insurrection had been subdued by force 
of arms; which was, of course, General Weyler’s policy. 

There were numerous diplomatic controversies between 


72 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Spain and the United States over Cuban affairs. The 
American Consul-General at Havana, Ramon O. Wil- 
liams, intervened in behalf of numerous American citi- 
zens who had been arrested for complicity in the revolu- 
tion, insisting upon their trial by civil and not by mili- 
tary courts. In the case of five American sailors taken 
on a filibustering expedition, death by shooting was or- 
dered by Weyler, but the Spanish government quashed 
the sentence and ordered a civil trial on Mr. Williams’s 
threat to close the Consulate and thus suspend relations. 
Antagonism between the consul and the Captain-General 
became so intense that Mr. Williams offered to resign his 
office, but the President requested him to remain. How- 
ever he finally retired, at his own volition, and was suc- 
ceeded on June 3 by Fitzhugh Lee; who proved equally 
resolute in his protection of American interests. 
Meantime, what of the revolutionary civil government 
of the Republic of Cuba? At the beginning it was a 
fugitive in the mountain fastnesses of the Sierra Maestra, 
in the southern part of Oriente, between Santiago and 
Manzanillo. Thence it removed to Las Tunas, in the 
same province. But after the great eastward drive by 
Gomez and Maceo it established itself permanently in 
the Sierra de Cubitas, in the Province of Camaguey, mid- 
way between the city of Camaguey and the north coast 
of Cuba. There it remained, in a practically impreg- 
nable stronghold, and there it surrounded itself with 
such military industries as it was capable of conducting 
—largely the manufacture of dynamite, machetes, and 
of clothing. From that capital it directed an efficient 
administration of the major part of the island. It levied 
and collected taxes, and gave to about two-thirds of the 
island a mail service at least as efficient as that of the 
Spanish government had ever been. A complete judicial 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 73 


and police system was maintained, and was more re- 
spected by the people than that of Spain. In brief it 
was substantially true, as President Cisneros declared, 
that the island was peaceful, law-abiding and well-gov- 
erned, excepting in those places where the Spanish in- 
vaders were making trouble! 

But the Spanish did make trouble. Weyler once more 
strove to place an impassable barrier between Pinar del 
Rio and Havana, to keep Maceo shut up in the former 
province. He constructed it so strongly, with ditches, 
block houses, barbed wire fences, artillery and what not 
as to make it almost impossible of passage. Then he 
put 10,000 of his best troops west of it, to fight Maceo, 
and distributed 28,000 more along the trocha to keep 
Maceo from breaking out. The result was most un- 
fortunate for the Spanish troops west of the trocha. 
They were there to hunt down Maceo. Instead, Maceo 
hunted them. If they ventured to attack him, he re- 
pulsed them. More often he attacked them, and almost 
invariably routed them. At Lechuza he cut to pieces 
Colonel Debos’s column and drove its survivors to the 
shelter of a gunboat at the shore. At Bahia Honda and 
Punta Brava the Spanish were badly beaten. In the 
Rubi Hills a Spanish force was all but annihilated, and 
the commanders began to clamor for reenforcements; 
though Maceo had only 11,000 men, and the Spanish 
had 50,000 along the trocha to keep him from crossing 
it. During the summer the campaign slackened a little, 
though Maceo won several spirited engagements and 
maintained his control of practically all the province 
excepting parts of the coast. In the early fall, with his 
army increased to 20,000 he resumed the aggressive; 
using for the first time a dynamite gun which thoroughly 
demoralized the Spaniards. Near Pinar del Rio city, 


74 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


at Las Tumbas Torino, at San Francisco, at Guayabitos 
. and at Vinales, he defeated the enemy and inflicted heavy 
losses. The same record was made early in October 
at San Felipe, at Tunibar del Torillo, at Manaja, at Ceja 
del Negro, and Guamo. A solitary Spanish victory was 
won at Guayabitos. 

Like the general government at Cubitas, Maceo had 
headquarters in the mountains, and there guarded effec- 
tively a large and fertile region, where supplies ample for 
feeding his army could be produced. He also conducted 
workshops for the manufacture of arms and ammunition. 
Against this position, in his rage and desperation, Wey- 
ler himself in November led an army of 36,000 picked 
troops, with six Generals. For several days attack after 
attack was made, every one being repulsed by Maceo with 
heavy loss to the Spaniards, until at last, with a third 
of his army destroyed, Weyler abandoned the attempt — 
and retreated. Unfortunately, on December 4 Maceo 
with his staff and a small force decided to undertake a 
secret expedition to seek a conference with leaders in 
Havana Province. They accordingly crossed the Bay 
of Mariel in a small boat and thus reached the eastern 
side of the trocha. Messages were sent to revolutionary 
chiefs in Havana and Matanzas, asking them to come to a 
council of war at a designated point near Punta Brava, 
familiar to them all as secure rendezvous. A few came 
promptly, but in some way the secret of the meeting be- 
came known to the Spanish. In consequence, on Decem- 
ber 7, while he was expecting the arrival of more of his 
friends, Maceo heard the sound of firing at the outposts 
of his camp. Riding to the scene, he found Spanish 
troops attacking him. He rallied his troops and under 
his directions they were soon mastering the enemy, when 
a shot struck Maceo and he fell mortally wounded; his 


avabitos 
nflicted heavy 
ctober 

Ceja 


tory Was 


JOSE ANTONIO MACEO 

Born at Santiago de Cuba in 1849, of a family of patriots and 
brave fighters, and dying in battle at Punta Brava, near Havana, 
on December 7, 1896, José Antonio Maceo was one of the most 
gallant soldicts. in the Ten Years’ War and one of the’ very’ fore- 
most chieftains of the. War of Independence. Gifted. with, mili- 
tary genius and with leadership of men, he was the greatest. strate- 
gist and the most popular commander in the Liberating Army, and 
the greatest terror to the foe. Partly of Negro blood, he ‘was an 
equal honor to both races, and finely typified in himself their: union 
in the cause of Cuban independence. A monument to: his imper- 
ishable memory crowns Cacagual Hill, where his te ea were 
buried. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 75 


last words, referring to the progress of the skirmish, be- 
ing, “It goes well.” 

At his fall his troops were panic stricken and gave way, 
so that the Spaniards occupied the field and plundered 
and stripped the dead. It was said that they did not 
know that it was Maceo whom they had killed until a 
native guide who was with them recognized his body. 
While they were still plundering the dead Cuban reen- 
forcements under Pedro Diaz came up, furious at the 
-loss of their peerless chief, and a desperate fight ensued, 
which ended in the rout of the Spaniards and the recoy- 
ery of Maceo’s body by the Cubans. When the defeated 
Spaniards got back to headquarters and reported that 
they had slain Maceo, they were not believed. It was 
not considered possible that he had crossed the trocha. 
But a little later convincing confirmation came to them 
from a Cuban source. This was furnished when Dr. 
Maximo Zertucha, who had been Maceo’s surgeon-gen- 
eral and who was the only member of his staff who had 
survived the disastrous fight at Punta Brava, came to 
Spanish headquarters and surrendered himself. He ex- 
plained that he did so because he had seen Maceo killed, 
and he regarded the loss of that leader as certainly fatal 
to the cause of the Cuban revolution. The Spanish au- 
thorities accepted his surrender and granted him full am- 
nesty, a circumstance which caused many Cubans to sus- 
pect that he had betrayed his chief, by sending word of 
his whereabouts to the Spanish commander. Of this 
there appears, however, to have been no proof. Thus 
perished Antonio Maceo, who would have been the gen- 
eralissimo of the Cuban forces but for the prudent fear 
that maligners might then. have spread successfully the 
damaging libel that the revolution: was nothing but a 
negro insurrection; a fear which he himself felt, and on 


76 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


account of which he insisted that Maximo Gomez should 
be the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolutionary 
armies. Thus perished Antonio Maceo, a soldier and 
a man without a superior in either of the contending 
armies, and a commander, indeed, who, in personal valor, 
in strategic skill, in resource, in resolution, in knowledge 
of the art of war, and in all the elements of military 
greatness, was worthy to be ranked among the great 
captains of all lands and of all time. The loss of him 
was irreparable. But it was not fatal to the Cuban 
cause. ‘Thereafter the effort of every Cuban soldier and 
patriot was to increase his own efficiency to some de- 
gree, so that the aggregate would atone for the loss that 
had been sustained. 

While Maceo was thus baffling the Spanish in the far 
west of the island, Gomez and his heutenants were more 
than holding their own in the other five provinces. Jose 
Maceo in April marched from Oriente all the way to the 
western side of Havana, where he was joined by Serafin 
Sanchez, Rodriguez, Lacret, Maso, Aguirre and others, 
until nearly 20,000 Cubans were gathered there. Gomez 
remained in Santa Clara, where the Spaniards had a 
precarious foothold at Cienfuegos, protected by their 
fleet. Colonel Gonzalez, commanding in the district of 
Remedios, routed the forces of General Oliver. Then, 
the Spanish power in the three great eastern provinces 
having been rendered negligible, a general movement 
westward was undertaken, following in the trail of the 
two Maceos. Gomez himself took supreme command, 
and Collazo, Calixto Garcia and others marched their 
forces to join him. Calixto Garcia, after only Maximo 
Gomez and Antonio Maceo, was the foremost chieftain 
of the patriots, and not unworthy to rank with them in a 
trinity of military prowess. He was now advanced in 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 77 


years, having been born in 1839, at Holguin, Oriente. 
From childhood a fervent patriot, at the outbreak of the 
Ten Years’ War he took the field under Donato Marmol. 
His native bent for military achievement assured him 
advancement, and at Santa Rita and Baire he was a 
Brigadier General under Gomez. In 1871 he besieged 
Guisa and Holguin, and then, when Gomez marched 
westward into Camaguey, thence to force passage of the 
trocha between Jucaro and Moron, Garcia was left in 
“supreme command in Oriente. In that capacity he was 
active, triumphing at Santa Maria, Holguin, Chaparra, 
the siege and capture of Manzanillo, and at Ojo de Agua 
de los Melones. ‘Then came the incident which for the 
time ended his military career and which gave him that 
scar in the centre of his forehead which was ever after 
so conspicuous a feature. At San Antonio de Baja he 
and only twenty of his men were surprised and sur- 
rounded by a large force of Spaniards. Seeing that es- 
cape was impossible, and having vowed never to fall 
alive into the hands of Spain, he put the muzzle of a 
pistol beneath his chin and fired. The bullet passed 
through the tongue, the roof of his mouth, behind his 
nose, and out at the centre of his forehead. But not thus 
was he to die. The Spaniards took him to a hospital at 
Santiago, where he recovered, and then sent him to prison 
in Spain; whence he returned to Cuba after the Treaty 
of Zanjon. He was a leader in the “Little War’’; then, 
enjoying the respect and friendship of Martinez Campos, 
he went back to Spain and for a time was a bank clerk 
at Madrid. ‘Thus he was engaged when the War of In- 
dependence began. Suspected and watched, he was not 
able to escape until a year later. But on March 24, 1896, 
he landed at Baracoa with an important expedition, and 
thereafter he was a raging and consuming flame of war. 


78 THE HISTORY OF \CURA 


The westward march was marked with victory. On 
May 14 Colonel Segura’s whole battalion was captured. 
On June 9 and 10 near Najasa General Jiminez Castel- 
lanos was soundly beaten and forced to retreat to Cama- 
guey. Then, hoping to bar the Cubans from Santa 
Clara, the Spanish reconstructed the eastern trocha, from 
Jucaro to Moron, and sent forces inland from Santiago 
and other coast towns to create a back fire in Oriente. 
Calixto Garcia turned upon these latter, and routed them 
on the Cauto River, at Venta de Casanova, and near 
Bayamo, and captured great stores of supplies. At 
Santa Ana several stubbornly contested battles occurred 
between Garcia and General Linares, in which the latter 
was finally worsted. At Loma del Gato on July 5 the 
Cubans under Jose Maceo and Perequito Perez defeated 


the forces of General Albert and Colonel Vara del Rey, — 


but at the heavy cost of Maceo’s death. Meanwhile Juan 
B. Zayas, Lacret and others penetrated Havana Province 
at will, in guerrilla warfare; but Zayas was finally killed 
in an engagement near Gabriel. 

During the rainy season there was comparatively little 
activity, but in the fall the advance westward began in 
earnest. Garcia captured Guaimaro, and Gomez pushed 
on to Camaguey, but left the place to be dealt with by 
Garcia and hastened on, with Rodriguez, Rabi, Bandera 
and Carrillo. He crossed the trocha with ease, pene- 
trated Santa Clara, and was soon in Matanzas, where 
Aguirre joined them with 3,200 men. He put an end 
to sugar making throughout most of the province, and 
then encamped in the Cienaga de Zapata, leaving a num- 
ber of active guerrilla bands to harass and menace 
Havana. In the latter province at the beginning of De- 
cember Raoul Arango and Nicolas Valencia attacked the 
town of Guanabacoa, only five miles from Havana, and 


Par 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 79 


seized great stores of supplies. Beyond the western 
trocha Ruiz Rivera succeeded Antonio Maceo in com- 
mand, and carried on his work with much success. Thus 
the second year of the war drew to a close with the pa- 
triots despite some heavy losses decidedly in the ascend- 
ant, and the Spanish campaign of ruthless severity no 
more successful than that of moderation and conciliation 
had been. 

One other incident of the year 1896 was highly sig- 
nificant. At the beginning of December the President 
of the United States, Mr. Cleveland, in his annual mes- 
sage to Congress, discussed the Cuban problem very fully 
and frankly. He practically reasserted the historic pol- 
icy toward that island first enunciated by John Quincy 
Adams, as quoted in a preceding volume of this history. 
He reasserted the Monroe Doctrine. He made it clear 
that the United States had special interests in Cuba, 
which not only all other nations but also Spain herself 
must recognize and acknowledge. Concerning the war 
he said, most justly: 

“The spectacle of the utter ruin of an adjoining coun- 
try, by nature one of the most fertile and charming on 
the globe, would engage the serious attention of the gov- 
ernment and people of the United States in any circum- 
stances. In point of fact, they have a concern with it 
which is by no means of a wholly sentimental or phil- 
anthropic character. It lies so near us as to be hardly 
separated from our territory. Our actual pecuniary in- 
terest in it is second only to that of the people and gov- 
ernment of Spain. It is reasonably estimated that at 
least from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000 of American capi- 
tal are invested in plantations and in railroad, mining 
and other business enterprises on the island. The vol- 
ume of trade between the United States and Cuba, which 


80 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


in 1889 amounted to about $64,000,000, rose in 1893 
to about $103,000,000, and in 1894, the year before the 
present insurrection broke out, amounted to nearly $96,- 
000,000. Beside this large pecuniary stake in the for- 
tunes of Cuba, the United States finds itself inextricably 
involved in the present contest in other ways both vexa- 
tious and costly.” 

Then he added, in words the purport of which was un- 
mistakable: 

“When the inability of Spain to deal successfully with 
the insurrection has become manifest, and it is demon- 
strated that her sovereignty is extinct in Cuba for all 
purposes of its rightful existence, and when a hopeless 
struggle for its reestablishment has degenerated into a 
strife which means nothing more than the useless sacri- _ 
fice of human life and the utter destruction of the very 
subject-matter of the conflict, a situation will be pre- 
sented in which our obligations to the sovereignty of 
Spain will be superseded by higher obligations, which 
we can hardly hesitate to recognize and discharge.” 

To those who knew Mr. Cleveland, and who appre- 
ciated the care with which he selected every word in all 
important addresses, this could have but one meaning. 
It meant that American intervention was inevitable. 
Note that he did not say “Jf the inability of Spain should 
. .. a situation would . . .” as though the thing were 
still problematic. No; but he said plumply “When the 
inability of Spain as become manifest . . . a situation 
will be presented . . .” In his mind the thing was cer- 
tain to come. It had already come, and only awaited 
disclosure and recognition. Remember, too, that of all 
men of his time Mr. Cleveland was one of the most op- 
posed to “jingoism,’’ and meddling with the affairs of 
other lands; while to any suggestion of conquest and 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 81 


annexation of Cuba to the United States he would have 
offered the most resolute opposition of which he was 
capable. In view of those facts, that utterance in his 
message was of epochal import. It foreshadowed pre- 
cisely what did occur less than a year and a half later. 
It was in effect a declaration of intervention and of war 
with Spain in behalf of Cuban independence, made more 
than a year before the steamer Maine entered Havana 
harbor. 


CHAPTER VI 


WE have said that the death of Antonio Maceo moved 
Cuban patriots to redouble their efforts to atone for the 
grievous loss which their cause had thus suffered. Un- 
fortunately not all of them were capable of so doing, 
while those who did so were unable to make devotion 
and zeal take the place of consummate military genius. 
In consequence, despite the utmost efforts of Gomez and 
his colleagues matters went badly for the revolution 
through most of the following year. Gomez himself in- 
deed felt that he had lost his right arm. He was at La 
Reforma, near Sancti Spiritus, at the beginning of 1897, 
and he summoned the other revolutionary leaders to 
meet him there, to concentrate their forces, and to plan a 
new campaign. ‘They came promptly and eagerly, some 
of them unfortunately thus leaving without protection 
important strategic points and centers of revolutionist in- 
dustry, which were pounced upon and captured by the 
Spanish. When the patriot forces were thus gathered it 
was expected that there would be immediately under- 
taken a general advance westward, into Matanzas and 
Havana; for which it was believed the Cuban army was 
strong enough, and which the Spanish were not believed 
to be able to resist. 

Instead, Gomez decided first to effect the reduction of 
Arroyo Blanco. This was a small and unimportant 
town in the Province of Camaguey, near the Santa Clara 
border; containing a Spanish garrison under Captain 


Escobar. Gomez first summoned Escobar to surrender, 
82 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 83 


in order to avoid the destruction which would be caused 
by the bombardment of the place with a dynamite gun, 
which he threatened to begin forthwith. Escobar defied 
him, and the bombardment was undertaken, but proved 
ineffective, and before Gomez could capture the place 
strong Spanish reenforcements arrived and the attempt 
had tobe abandoned. Thereafter Gomez contented him- 
self with sending several strong bands westward, to con- 
duct guerrilla warfare against the Spaniards wherever 
they could, while he himself remained near Sancti Spiri- 
tus, also engaging in irregular operations. 

There he was presently menaced by Weyler himself. 
That formidable foe had practically achieved the con- 
quest of Pinar del Rio. After Maceo’s death the Cuban 
forces in that province had largely dispersed, some aban- 
doning the struggle altogether as hopeless, and others 
going to the east, to join themselves with Gomez, Garcia 
or other surviving leaders. Only a few roving bands 
remained. Accordingly Weyler announced that the west- 
erm province was pacified. That was sufficiently true; 
but it was conspicuously true in the sense expressed by 
Tacitus, and Byron. They had made a solitude, and 
called it peace. Seldom had any comparable region 
been so thoroughly devastated and desolated. Then 
Weyler felt himself free to lead his army elsewhere. 

He set out from Havana with an imposing array of 
troops, and marched through the heart of the province 
and of Matanzas, into Santa Clara. On the way there 
was little fighting to do, not even to beat off guerrilla 
bands. His attention was given, therefore, to devastat- 
ing the country, and to driving the inhabitants into “‘con- 
centration camps,” where they were doomed to starve to 
death by thousands. By the end of February he was 
triumphantly encamped at the foot of the Guamuhaya 


84 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Mountains, between Santa Clara and Trinidad, and had 
the satisfaction of having wrought vast destruction upon 
the property of Cubans and upon the essential supplies 
of the Cuban army. 

A few weeks later Quintin Bandera with a small force 
came from Camaguey and, by wading through the shal- 
low water of the Bay of Sabanabamar, got around the 
trocha and joined Gomez. The latter directed him to 
continue westward, and to harass the Spaniards with 
guerrilla attacks. This was done, and Bandera pro- 
ceeded as far as Trinidad. Then failing to receive 
necessary support he turned back, and on July 4 was 
killed in a skirmish at Pelayo. East of the trocha Cal: 
ixto Garcia continued his formidable career against such 
Spanish forces as remained in that region. He captured 
Las Tunas after forty-eight hours of almost incessant 
fighting. In Matanzas and Havana the revolutionary 
bands were badly broken up by the Spaniards, and they 
seemed to lack efficient leadership. Their leader, Gen- 
eral Lacret, fell into an unfortunate controversy with 
Gomez over his treatment of Cubans who disregarded 
government orders, especially in their attitude toward the 
Spaniards. Gomez, remorseless, would have had them 
shot as traitors, but Lacret insisted upon more lenient 
treatment of them, realizing that they were almost lit- 
erally “between the devil and the deep sea” and were 
therefore entitled to sympathetic consideration. The 
outcome was that Gomez relieved Lacret of his command 
and appointed Alexander Rodriguez in his place, in 
Matanzas. ‘That officer failed to command the loyalty 
of his troops, and the result was that the latter generally 
deserted and dispersed. Mayia Rodriguez was then or- 
dered to the scene, but was unable to collect a sufficient 
force, and remained in Santa Clara, hemmed in by the 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 85 


Spanish. General Jose Maria Aguirre, who died in De- 
cember, 1896, was succeeded in command in the Prov- 
ince of Havana by Nestor Aranguren, who performed 
some creditable minor operations, particularly against 
Spanish railroad communications, but achieved nothing 
of realimportance. His lieutenant, General Adolfo Cas- 
tillo, in the southern part of the province, was killed in 
battle, in September, and was succeeded by Juan Del- 
gado. The Spanish General Parrado in October 
marched without opposition as far as Los Palos, and 
there received the surrender of a small Cuban band; and 
in November General Pando with a powerful army made 
his way without serious opposition from Havana to the 
western part of Oriente. 

It was during this year that Weyler’s ever infamous 
“concentration” policy, which was really a policy of ex- 
termination, reached its infernal climax and was then 
repudiated and abandoned. ‘This system, as already re- 
lated, was decreed on October 21, 1896. It required all 
Cubans, men, women and children, to leave their homes 
in the rural regions and enter concentration camps. 
These were simply huge pens, enclosed with fences and 
barbed wire and guarded by Spanish soldiers. There 
the hapless prisoners were huddled together, without shel- 
ter from the elements, and with little or no food save 
such as could be procured by stealth. ‘There was none 
to be had within the enclosures, of course, and the pris- 
oners could not go out to get any, even if any was to be 
_found in the devastated country around them. Their 
friends outside seldom dared approach the camps to 
bring them food, because as they had not themselves 
surrendered as commanded by Weyler, they were liable 
to be shot at sight. 

Elsewhere Cubans by thousands were driven into towns 


86 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


and cities which were still under Spanish control, and 
were there kept prisoners within the Spanish lines. ‘They 
were not quite so badly off as those in the concentration 
camps, though the difference was not great. They had 
no means of obtaining food, save as the municipal au- 
thorities, more merciful than Weyler, opened “soup 
kitchens” and thus in charity kept some of them from 
starvation. As it was the mortality from starvation, 
disease and exposure was appalling. As it was reported 
that many of these sufferers were American citizens, the 
President of the United States asked Congress to appro- 
priate $50,000 for their relief. ‘This was done, and the 
sum was sent to the Consul-General at Havana. He was, 
however, able. to reach only a small proportion of the - 
sufferers, and thus was presently compelled to report that 
he had been unable to expend more than a fraction of the 
sum at his disposal. This monstrous policy of waging 
war against non-combatants, including women and chil- 
dren, did more perhaps than anything else to crystallize 
public opinion throughout the United States against 
Weyler and against the Spanish government which he 
represented and which was responsible for him, and to 
strengthen the demand that was being made for interven- 
tion in behalf of humanity. 

This demand was made not merely by the “yellow 
press,”’ which was inspired by sordid and sinister mo- 
tives, but also by the most thoughtful, disinterested and 
upright men of America. Fitzhugh Lee, the highly 
competent and trustworthy consul-general at Havana, of- 
ficially reported in December, 1897, that in the Province 
of Havana alone there had been 101,000 of the “re- 
concentrados,” of which more than half had died, 
About 400,000 innocent and unoffending persons, chiefly 
women and children, had been transformed into impris- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 87 


oned paupers, to be sustained by charity or to die of dis- 
ease and famine. Senator Proctor, of Vermont, one of 
the foremost members of the United States Senate, made 
a personal tour of investigation in such parts of the 
island as were accessible, and reported to his colleagues 
that “It is not peace, nor is it war; it is desolation and 
distress, misery and starvation.”” ‘The people of the 
United States thus came to the conclusion that the Span- 
ish were unable to subdue the Cubans, S28 that the 
Cubans were unable to expel the ss 
Spanish, and that the war was 
therefore nothing but a campaign 
of destruction and extermination, 
which would end only when one 
side was exhausted or extirpated. 
It was impossible that a civilized 
and humane nation should re- 
gard such a spectacle at its very 
doors with indifference. We ed 
have hitherto quoted the significant remarks of President 
Cleveland on the subject in his message of December, 
1896, clearly foreshadowing intervention. His succes- 
sor, President McKinley, in his message of just a year 
later, in December, 1897, expressed in slightly different 
language the identical convictions and purposes. He 
said: 

“The near future will demonstrate whether the indis- 
pensable conditions of a righteous peace, just alike to the 
Cubans and to Spain, as well as equitable to all our in- 
terests so intimately involved in the welfare of Cuba, 
is likely to be attained. If not, the exigency of further 
and other action by the United States will remain to be 
taken. When that time comes, that action will be de- 
termined in the line of indisputable right and duty. . 


88 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


If it shall hereafter appear to be a duty imposed by our 
obligations to ourselves, to civilization, and to humanity, 
to intervene with force, it shall be without fault on our 
part, and only because the necessity for such action will 
be so clear as to command the support and approval of 
the civilized world.” 

If McKinley, a less aggressive and more conciliatory 
man than Cleveland, spoke a little less positively than 
his predecessor, in that he employed the hypothetical 
form, the purport of his words was the same. The one 
a Democratic President, the other a Republican Presi- 
dent, long before that incident of the Maine which has 
incorrectly been regarded by some as the cause of the 
American war with Spain, openly and in the most ex- 
plicit manner contemplated the prospect of forcible inter- 
vention in Cuba and of consequent war. 

Meantime Spain herself passed through a political 
crisis, which made a change in her Cuban administra- 
tion. Loud protests were made there against the ruth- 
less and inhuman policy of Weyler, but the Prime Min- 
ister, Canovas del Castillo, was deaf to them and per- 
sisted in retaining Weyler in command. But on August 
8 Canovas was assassinated by an Anarchist, and was 
succeeded by General Azcarraga, Minister of War, who 
continued his policy unchanged. But on September 29 
the whole Cabinet resigned, and on October 4 Sagasta, 
the Liberal leader, became Prime Minister. He 
promptly recalled Weyler and appointed General Ramon 
Blanco to be Captain-General of Cuba in his stead. 
Weyler departed, breathing wrath and hatred against 
Cuba and against America, and predicting failure for his 
successor, even as Campos had predicted it for Weyler 
himself. 

Blanco arrived at Havana on November 1, 1897, with 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 89 


the purpose, as he had announced before sailing, of put- 
ting sincerely into effect the reforms which Sagasta had 
outlined, reforms which would, he believed, be accept- 
able to the Cuban people. He found the condition of 
affairs in the island to be far worse than it had been re- 
ported, or than he had expected. ‘The ‘‘reconcentrados”’ 
had been dying and were still dying by tens of thousands. 
The soldiers had not been paid for months and in con- 
sequence were disaffected and mutinous, and were loot- 
-ing to obtain food which they had no money to buy. 
Both the Spanish and the Cuban Autonomists were pro- 
foundly dissatisfied; while the Revolutionists, though 
making no progress, were as implacable as ever. He at 
once ordered the concentration camps to be abolished, 
saying that he would not make war upon women and 
children, and he secured a credit of $100,000 from the 
Spanish government to assist the Cuban peasantry in the 
rehabilitation of their ruined farms. All American citi- 
zens were released from prison, as were also many Cubans 
who were under sentence of death. Cuban refugees and 
exiles were invited to return home, and every facility 
possible was afforded for the resumption of sugar mak- 
ing and agriculture. He then undertook to put into 
effect a system of home rule which he fondly hoped 
would satisfy the Autonomists and would bring the 
masses of the Cuban people over to the side of that 
party. 

Let us review briefly the state of Cuba at this epochal 
time, the ending of 1897 and the beginning of 1898, 
the ultimate climax of four centuries of Cuban history. 
The War of Independence had been in progress less 
than three years. Five successively unsuccessful Cap- 
tains-General had striven to conquer a brave people re- 
solved to be free. No fewer than 52,000 Spanish sol- 


90 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


diers had lost their lives in battle or from disease, 47,000 
had been returned to Spain disabled, 42,000 were in 
hospitals unfit for duty, and 70,000 regulars and 16,000 
irregulars still kept up the fatuous struggle. The in- 
famies of Weyler had destroyed by starvation and dis- 
ease 250,000 Cubans, the majority of them women and 
children, reducing the population of the island to 1,100,- 
000 Cubans intent on independence and 150,000 Span- 
iards opposed to their having it. The Cuban army con- 
sisted of 25,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry, fairly well 
armed, with some artillery. Maximo Gomez was Com- 
mander in Chief. Major-General Calixto Garcia com- 
manded in Camaguey and Oriente, with Pedro Perez, 
Jesus Rabi and Mario G. Menocal as his leutenants. 
Major-General Francisco Carrillo commanded in Santa 
Clara, aided by Jose Rodriguez, Hijino Esquerra, Jose 
Miguel Gomez and Jose Gonzales. In the western three 
provinces Major-General Jose Maria Rodriguez com- 
manded, with Pedro Betancourt, Alexandro Rodriguez, 
Pedro Vias and Juan Lorente as his chief aids. The 
civil government of the Republic had been changed some- 
what, Bartolome Maso being President, Domingo Men- 
dez Capote Vice-President and Secretary of War, An- 
dreas Moreno Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ernesto 
Fonts-Sterling Secretary of Finance, and Manuel Silva 
Secretary of the Interior. This organization, with its 
provincial and municipal subordinates, was performing 
the functions of government under great difficulties, yet 
much more efficiently and to a much wider extent 
throughout the island, than the Spanish administration. 

The uncompromising attitude of the Revolutionists, 
and the hopelessness of any attempt at amicable adjust- 
ment of affairs, was at this time strikingly shown in a 
tragic incident. It was in December, 1897. There was 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 91 


in Havana a young Spanish officer named Joaquin Ruiz, 
who had formerly served as a civil engineer, and had 
been intimately associated with Nestor Aranguren, an- 
other young engineer who had become a leader of the 
Revolutionists and had made himself particularly active 
and annoying to the Spanish in the Province of Havana. 
The two were close friends, and were both mén of charm- 
ing personality. The Spanish authorities in Havana de- 
termined to use this friendship in an attempt to seduce 
-Aranguren into betraying or at least deserting the patriot 
cause. So-Ruiz was directed to open a correspondence 
with Aranguren, with a view to securing a personal in- 
terview with him. Aranguren wrote to Ruiz that he 
would be glad to meet him personally, but could not do 
so if he came on any political errand; and he warned 
him that for him to come to the Cuban camp with any 
proposal of Cuban surrender or acceptance of autonomy 
would subject him to the penalty of death, which would 
infallibly be carried out. Despite this warning, and pre- 
sumably against his own better judgment, Ruiz obeyed 
the orders of his superiors, and undertook the errand. 
He had no safe conduct. He bore no flag of truce. He 
went through no agreement between the commanding of- 
ficers of the respective sides. He went in the circum- 
stances and manner of a spy; and his purpose was to 
persuade, if possible, a Cuban officer to betray his trust 
and become a traitor to his own cause. 

When in these circumstances Ruiz reached Aranguren, 
the latter was so distressed that it is said he burst into 
tears and, embracing his old friend, exclaimed, ‘“‘Why 
have you come? It will mean your certain death! I 
cannot save you!”’ And such indeed was the case. 
Aranguren was devoted to his friend, but still more to 
Cuba. Ruiz was taken before a court martial. He 


92 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


made no defence. He admitted the character and pur- 
pose of his errand. And he received the sentence of 
death with the fortitude of a brave man. An attempt 
was made by the Spanish authorities to exploit Ruiz as 
a martyr to Cuban savagery, but it recoiled upon their 
own heads. It was shown that they had unworthily em- 
ployed a brave and devoted soldier in a discreditable er- 
rand, and that he had been dealt with according to the 
stern but just rules of war. It was also demonstrated 
that Cuban patriots were not thus to be corrupted. By 
a strange turn of fate, only a few weeks later Nestor 
Aranguren was killed by the Spanish during one of his 
daring raids against Havana. It was said that he was 
betrayed by a Spaniard who had become one of his fol- 
lowers for the purpose of avenging Ruiz. His body fell 
into the hands of the Spanish, and, despite their former 
assumed wrath over the execution of Ruiz, they treated 
it with all respect and interred it in the Columbus Ceme- 
tery at Havana, close to the grave of Ruiz. 

This was not the only incident of the sort. Only a 
few weeks after the death of Ruiz a civilian named 
Morales went to the camp of Pedro Ruiz, in the Province 
of Pinar del Rio, with proposals for compromise on the 
basis of autonomy. He was promptly taken before a 
court martial, tried, condemned, and put to death. 
Whether Blanco himself was responsible for this policy 
of sending emissaries to the Cuban camp with proposals 
which he would not venture to make openly in an ac- 
credited manner to the Cuban government, did not ap- 
pear. The presumption, because of his known char- 
acter, is that he was not, and indeed that he was not 
aware that they were being made. ‘There is even reason 
for thinking that after the Morales case was brought to 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 93 


his attention, he prohibited any more such clandestine 
and illegal enterprises. Tragic as the incidents were, 
and especially regrettable as was the sacrifice of such a 
man as Ruiz, it was well to have it made unmistakably 
clear that the Cubans were not inclined to end the war 
by surrender or by compromise, but were intent upon 
fighting it out to the end. 

In such circumstances Blanco strove for the last time 
to defeat the Cuban national desire for independence. 
He probably realized in advance the certainty of failure. 
He had been, Captain-General before, succeeding Campos 
after the Ten Years’ War and during the Little War, and 
he must have known the temper of the Cuban people and 
the unwillingness of the great majority of them to accept 
the delusive scheme of autonomy which Spain was fit- 
fully offering, and in which he himself never had any 
real faith and which, indeed, he had never favored. 
But he was a loyal Spanish soldier, of the better type, 
and he was personally as little odious to the Cubans as 
any Spanish Captain General could be, for he had never 
been notably tyrannical or cruel. ‘The decree of au- 
tonomy was adopted by the Spanish government on No- 
vember 25, 1897, largely because of the urgings—to use 
no stronger term—of the United States, and was pro- 
mulgated by Blanco in Cuba early in December. The 
scheme provided for universal suffrage; a bi-cameral 
Legislature consisting of a Council of eighteen elected 
members and seventeen appointed by the crown, and a 
House containing one elected member for each 25,000 
inhabitants. To this Legislature were nominally com- 
mitted most of the functions of government. But it was 
provided that ‘““The supreme government of the colony 
shall be exercised by a Governor-General.” That was 


94 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the crux of the whole matter. That made the Captain- 
General, or Governor-General as he was thereafter to 
be called, the practical dictator of the island. 

To this entirely illusive and delusive scheme, the rem- 
nant of the Autonomist party gave adherence with a de- 
votion worthy of a better cause. The Reformist faction 
of the Spanish party also, though not so readily, approved 
it. The intransigent Constitutionalists would have none 
of it. ‘Tenuous and futile as were its apparent conces- 
sions to the Cubans, they were far too much for these 
insular Bourbons to be willing to grant. They socially 
ostracised Blanco, and before the system was to go into 
effect they called a convention at Havana to protest and 
to foment against it. The president of the party, the 
Cuban-born Marquis de Apezteguia, was indeed in favor 
of giving autonomy a trial. But he could not control 
the party whose other members were almost unanimously 
against it. They had defeated and expelled Campos. 
Now they resolved to do the same with Blanco. At the 
convention Apezteguia was rebuked and repudiated, 
though left in office. A telegram of sympathy was sent 
to Weyler. Speeches were made denouncing the United 
States, its President and its Congress. A resolution was 
adopted condemning and opposing autonomy, and an- 
other declaring that Constitutionalists would not vote nor 
take any part in public affairs. 

In the face of these circumstances, Blanco organized 
his Autonomist Cabinet. ‘The date was January 1, 1898. 
The place was the historic throne room of the Captain- 
General’s palace. There were present beside the Cab- 
inet the various foreign consuls and the dignitaries of the 
Roman Catholic Church. A small crowd of the people 
gathered outside, but the public in general paid little at- 
tention to the event. Yet the Cabinet which then came 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 95 


into brief existence was a body of men that in other cir- 
cumstances would have commanded most favorable atten- 
tion. The nominal head, President of the Cabinet with- 
out portfolio, was José Maria Galvez, a lawyer and ora- 
tor, the author of the Autonomist manifestoes of 1879 
and 1895. The real head, the most forceful and influen- 
tial member, not only, indeed, of the Cabinet but of the 
whole Autonomist party, was Dr. Rafael Montoro, the 
“Cuban Castelar” as his 
friends used to call him. 
He had long been an advo- 
cate of real autonomy, he 
had been the chief founder 
of the Autonomist party, he 
had been a Cuban Deputy 
to the Spanish Cortes, he 
had signed the Autonomist 
manifestoes of 1879 and 
1895, and he had approved RUC 

the insular reforms proposed by Canovas del Castillo. 
As lawyer, orator, scholar, writer, he had no superior 
if indeed a peer in Cuba. It was the inscrutable trag- 
edy of a great career that he identified himself with 
the Autonomist movement. He was Minister of Fi- 
nance. The Minister of Justice was Antonio Govin, also 
one of the original Autonomists, a man of great courage 
and ability, who on the failure of the Autonomist regime 
left Cuba and settled in the United States. Francisco 
Zayas, an accomplished educator, was made Minister 


ANTONIO GOVIN 


Antonio Govin, born at Matanzas in 1849 and deceased in Havana in 
1914, was a jurist, publicist, orator and patriot of distinction. He was 
Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Havana, and was the 
author of a number of volumes on law and on Colonial history. He was one 
of the founders and strong advocates of the Autonomist party and a mem- 
ber of the Autonomist cabinet. 


96 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


of Instruction. Laureano Rodriguez, a Peninsular 
Spaniard, was Minister of Agriculture, Labor and Com- 
merce. Eduardo Dolz, a Reformist, was also a mem- 
ber, who was supposed to be the special representative of 
the Spanish crown. ‘Two other men, not Ministers but 
high in Autonomist councils, Senors Amblard and Gi- 
berga, were regarded by the Spanish party as traitors 
who were really in league with the Revolutionists. 
Blanco swore in these Ministers, addressed them with an 
exhortation to support autonomy and to suppress the 
revolution, and gave them as the watchword of their ad- 
ministration “Long live Cuba, forever Spanish!” 

For a few days the glamor and the illusion lasted. 
Some inconspicuous revolutionists yielded to Spanish 
blandishments and surrendered; to whom the honest and 
chivalrous Blanco granted in good faith the amnesty 
which he had promised. Some Cuban refugees returned 
from the United States. The Autonomists—the few 
who still remained; for the majority had by this time 
joined the Revolutionists, gone into exile, or been im- 
prisoned—declared their adherence to the new order of 
affairs and professed satisfaction with it. Apparently 
they accepted at face value the explanations which were 
voluminously put forth by the government, to the effect 
that the system was practically identical with that of 
Canada, under which that country had long been con- 
tented, loyal and prosperous. ‘Technically, no doubt, 
there was a tolerably close analogy between the two. It 
was quite true that the powers reserved to the Spanish 
crown in Cuba through the Governor-General were simi- 
lar to those reserved to the British crown in Canada 
through the Viceroy. But the decisive factor in the case, 
which the Autonomists apparently ignored, was this, that 
while in Canada it was an unwritten but unbroken law 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 97 


that the crown did not exercise its powers save in accord- 
ance with the will of the people, it was morally certain 
that in Cuba the Spanish crown would exercise its powers 
to the full, whether the people liked it or not. The 
Cuban Autonomists in the United States, where many of 
them deemed it prudent to remain, did not suffer from 
the illusions of their compatriots in Cuba, and generally 
expressed dissatisfaction with the scheme, or at least re- 
served their judgment upon it. 

- The Spanish Reformists in Cuba also approved the 
scheme. They had deserted and betrayed Campos, and 
had been ignored by Weyler. Now they struggled to re- 
turn to public recognition and influence. True, they 
had never before wanted or approved autonomy. But 
they saw that now they must do so or remain in retire- 
ment. So they joined hands with the Cuban Autono- 
mists, congratulated the Spanish government, and 
pledged their loyalty to Blanco. This gave the Spanish 
government ground for its exultant belief that these two 
parties had united in its support, and would probably 
control the island in behalf of autonomy. 

But there were still the Constitutionalists to be reck- 
oned with. They were implacable. They had shown 
in their convention a few weeks before their hostility to 
autonomy. They had ostracised Blanco. Now they 
proceeded to further extremes. They organized riotous 
disturbances in Havana, and made violent demonstra- 
tions against Blanco and, which was in some respects 
more serious, against the American government and the 
American citizens in Cuba. So ominous did these dis- 
turbances become at the middle of January that the Con- 
sul-General, Fitzhugh Lee, was driven to request the 
sending of a war ship to Havana harbor for the protec- 
tion of American citizens. In consequence, on January 


98 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


24 the cruiser Maine was sent to Havana. This action 
was taken after consultation with the Spanish govern- 
ment, in which that government expressed great pleasure 
at the prospect of thus having a friendly visit of the 
American vessel to Cuban waters, and arranged to have 
its own cruiser the Vizcaya make a return visit to New 
York. 

This was not satisfactory, however, to the Spanish 
Minister at Washington, Senor Dupuy de Lome, who 
having failed to bring President McKinley to his own 
point of view of Cuban affairs, showed plainly his ani- 
mosity against that gentleman, and wrote a letter to a 
personal friend characterizing the President as a vacil- 
lating and time-serving politician. This letter through 
some clandestine means was placed in the hands of the 
United States Secretary of State, who at once sent for 
the Minister and asked him plumply if he had written it. 
The latter of course acknowledged that he had. ‘There- 
upon the Secretary cabled to the American Minister at 
Madrid to request the Spanish government to recall the 
offending envoy. This the Spanish government would 
doubtless have done, but for the fact that De Lome fore- 
stalled such action by cabling his resignation an hour 
before the dispatch of the Secretary of State reached 
Madrid. The Spanish government then sent Senor Polo 
y Bernabe to be its Minister at Washington. 

There next occurred the greatest and most mysterious 
tragedy of the entire revolutionary period. On the eve- 
ning of February 15, at twenty minutes before ten o’clock, 
a violent explosion occurred under or in the forward 
portion of the Maine as she lay in Havana harbor, suffi- 
cient to lift the hull some distance above its normal level. 
A few seconds later another and more violent explosion 
followed, which so completely destroyed the forward part 


i 


< 


VEO A oa 


astias off .ved iutitused 
Isvitosqeo1 bemwor eonil 


Letinso ot bavorgxosd 
“to ano ef sasvsH to 


2 


ae oo 1S ‘ORY OF 


: ie eral Maine was.s sent to Kevaniie 
wan deen alter consultation with (he Spaaae 
pamed he whee that voverament expeaner Fea 

| us having ait rigndthy v 


i ee esvis 
Agoyuesn wesc! to Cuban waters, ariel ieee 
: Viecaya make a Pena visit 


Tis Wi not satisfactory, however, 6 the 
iad x at shington, Senor Ages de Li 
railed. tol bring President 
int ny view of Cuban affair: 

TRE: BAY AND HARBO 


Ale 1 ign of Cuba is seated up 
nepal bay, the entrance to “which 


_.. lines crowned. sane by ‘the ahi | Cas 

; fortress, while the do 4 and spires of the 

~ background the centra mountain range of the 
of Havana is one of the most secure 
_ world, and in commercial importance, 
, ‘shipping, | ranks. among the foremost in ner : 
Madrid to request the Span go eriinent 
ading envoy. ‘| his the Spanish governtt 
abaless have done, but for the fact that De 
wet ach action by < cabling his ae 
er ame get Spe itch of the Secre tary of St ; 
Zs rh 2 Spanish go overnment then sent § 5 
He to be its Minister at Washingiom . 
wot occurred the g rentest and most D 
theo entire rev olut ion -y period, ona 
5 at twenty mi ti before 
occurred under or Hy ite oe 
, as she lay in Hevea harbor, 


‘tee hull some distance Tae its nore 


% ave tater ane sther an d oaore violent € 
"Followell % am completely destroyed | ther fe 


' 2 f . , 3 a 
y cs 
> ; ‘ xn or “ 2 
. ‘ I , - 
= : ‘ i 
= * i 
ue i 
- - . Et ey * 
a * - 
. r . 
> 
. , yi 
> 
. 
1 \ 
~ ’ 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 99 


of the ship that most of it could never be found. The 
remainder of the vessel almost immediately sank, in about 
six fathoms of water. Of the complement of 360, two 
officers and 264 men were killed, and of the remainder 60 
were wounded. Captain Sigsbee, commander of the 
Maine, telegraphed to Washington that all judgment 
upon the matter should be suspended until after full in- 
vestigation. Blanco telegraphed to Madrid that the ca- 
tastrophe was doubtless due to an accident within the 
ship, and the Madrid government promptly expressed 
regret and sympathy. 

In the United States there was a great outburst of grief 
and rage. Even the most restrained and conservative 
could not help a degree of suspicion of foul play, though 
of course not on the part of the Spanish government. A 
semi-criminal faction, in the “‘yellow” press, clamored 
furiously for war, charging Spaniards, even the Spanish 
government, with direct and malicious responsibility for 
the tragedy, and even publishing the grossest of false- 
hoods for the sake of inflaming popular sentiment. ‘Too 
large a proportion of the nation was swayed by these lat- 
ter sordid and sinister influences. But at least the gov- 
ernment kept its head, and acted with admirable discre- 
tion; though for so doing the President incurred the 
virulent animosity of the chief clamorer for war, an ani- 
mosity which was persistently maintained until it cul- 
minated in the incitement of a criminal Anarchist to as- 
sassinate the President. 

When the explosion occurred, and Blanco learned 
what it was, it is said that he shed tears and exclaimed, 
“This is the beginning of the end!” Despite his mes- 
sage to his government, he probably feared that there 
had been foul play, and he realized what effect, in any 
case, the incident would have upon Spanish-American 


100 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


relations. As for the Cuban revolutionists, both in Cuba 
and in the United States, they were almost stunned by two 
emotions. ‘The hideous atrocity of the thing was over- 
whelming, and they grieved at the loss of the American 
sailors as though they themselves had been Americans. 
At the same time they could not be blind nor insensible 
to the almost certain sequel. They felt that, as Blanco 
said, it was the beginning of the end, and that now 
American intervention was practically assured. 

The Spanish government proposed a joint investiga- 
tion into the disaster, but the United States government 
declined and conducted a thorough investigation of its 
own, through a board of eminent official experts. The 
report was that the loss of the ship was not due to any 
accident or to any negligence on the part of the officers 
and crew. The first explosion was external to the hull, 
as if caused by a torpedo or mine, and it caused the 
second explosion, which was that of the ship’s magazines. 
The Spanish government then conducted an investiga- 
tion of its own, resulting in a report that both explosions 
were within the ship and were presumably purely acci- 
dental. It may be added that a final examination in 
after years, when a cofferdam was built about the hulk 
and it was floated and then taken out to sea and sunk in 
deep water, fully confirmed the report of the American 
investigating board. 

It is to be recalled that Ramon O. Williams, who had 
only a little while before retired from the office of Amer- 
ican Consul-General at Havana, and was particularly 
well informed and judicious, earnestly warned the United 
States government against sending a ship to Havana, 
because the harbor was very elaborately mined, and there 
was a bitter and truculent feeling among the Spaniards 
against the United States; wherefore the danger of some 


Willard Waggoner, 
Masoa, @hio 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 101 


untoward occurrence was too great to be incurred without 
a more pressing necessity than was then apparent. But 
despite his warning the Maine was sent. She was con- 
ducted by a Spanish official pilot to her anchorage at a 
buoy between Regla and the old custom house. Whether 
a mine was attached to that buoy or not is unknown, 
though Mr. Williams was confident that one was. His 
theory was that some malignant Spanish officer, who 
had access to the keyboard of the mines, perhaps through 
connivance with some other fanatic, watched to see the 
tide swing the ship directly over the mine and then 
touched the key and caused the explosion. That would 
account for the enormous hole which was blown in the 
side of the ship, and which could not have been caused 
by any little mine or torpedo which might have been 
floated to the side of the ship, but must have been pro- 
duced by a very large mine planted deep beneath the 
hull. 

The findings of the American board of investigation 
were reported officially to the Spanish government, and 
the President in a message to Congress expressed con- 
fidence that Spain would act in the matter according to 
the dictates of justice, honor and friendship. The Span- 
ish government replied that it would certainly do so, and 
it presently proposed to submit the whole subject to in- 
vestigation by impartial experts, and to determination by 
arbitration. But this proposal was not made until April 
10, when so much else had occurred to strain relations be- 
tween the two countries that it could not be entertained by 
the United States. 

Meantime the Autonomist government in Cuba, with 
a devotion that was pathetic to behold, persisted in its 
efforts to justify its existence. An electoral census was 
taken, though of course it could not cover more than a 


102 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


small fraction of the island, and on March 27 an “elec- 
tion’ of Cuban Deputies to the Cortes was held. In fact 
there was no popular voting at all. A list was prepared 
of eligible candidates, twenty of them being Autonomists 
and Reformists, or supporters of the government, and 
ten representing the Constitutionalist opposition. The 
list was submitted to the Governor-General and approved 
by him, and the candidates were declared to have been 
duly elected. Jose Maria Galvez, the president of the 
Autonomist cabinet, reported to the President of the 
United States that the new government was satisfactorily 
performing its functions, and entreated him to give no 
encouragement to the revolutionists which would militate 
against its success. In April there was another “elec- 
tion” for members of the two houses of the Insular Leg- 
islature. On May 4 that Legislature met, chose Fer- 
nando del Casco as President of the Assembly, and con- 
firmed the Autonomist cabinet in its place; and it con- 
tinued patiently and valiantly to hold sessions, make 
laws, and act as though it were a real government, exer- 
cising real authority over the island, all through the 
period of the American war with Spain and the practical 
siege of the island by the American navy. When the 
Spanish forces yielded and a protocol for peace was 
signed, on August 12, the Legislature held its last meet- 
ing, and was declared dissolved by Blanco in October. 
The Autonomist Cabinet continued to exercise its func- 
tions, at least nominally, until the end of Spanish sov- 
ereignty in Cuba. 


CHAPTER VII 


THERE could be no greater mistake than that which 
has been too often and too persistently made, in regarding 
the destruction of the Maine as the cause of American 
intervention in Cuba. ‘The declarations of policy which 
we have already quoted from the messages of President 
Cleveland and President McKinley, the former fourteen 
months and the latter two months before that vessel went 
to Havana, are ample indications of the purpose of the 
American government to intervene unless there were a 
satisfactory amelioration of Cuban affairs. But there 
was no such amelioration, and therefore war was de- 
clared. It unquestionably would have been declared just 
the same, perhaps at a later and perhaps at an earlier 
date, if there had been no Maine at all. 

Beginning before the destruction of the Maine, and 
accelerated after that event, both sides were preparing 
for war. Nevertheless diplomatic negotiations con- 
tinued, chiefly conducted by the American Minister, 
Stewart L. Woodford, at Madrid. In order to facilitate 
such negotiations, President McKinley withheld the re- 
port on the Maine from Congress for a time. Spain 
asked that the pacification of Cuba, which the United 
. States was urging, be left to the Autonomist Legislature, 
which was to meet on May 4. The United States, de- 
claring that it did not want Cuba but did want peace 
in Cuba, proposed an armistice to begin at once and to 
last until October 1, itself meantime to act as mediator 
between the Cubans and Spain. Spain replied that an 


103 


104 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


armistice would be granted, to last at the pleasure of the 
Spanish commander, if the Cubans would ask for it 
themselves; and that already General Blanco had aban- 
doned the ‘‘concentration” system. ‘This was of course 
regarded as entirely unsatisfactory to the United States, 
but the peace-loving President McKinley hesitated to re- 
port to Congress his dissatisfaction with it. 

Meantime the Pope semi-officially expressed to both 
governments his earnest desire for the maintenance of 
peace; but to no effect. The German government, 
strongly sympathizing with Spain and seeking to foment 
ill-feeling between the United States and Great Britain, 
had its Ambassador at Washington, Dr. Von Holleben, 
form a cabal of the chief members of the Diplomatic 
Corps, to call on the President with what amounted to a 
suggestion of mediation, maliciously persuading the Brit- 
ish Ambassador to act as spokesman of the delegation, in 
order that any resentment or odium should fall upon him 
and his country; but the President with admirable temper 
and resolution declined with thanks all foreign meddling 
in a controversy which concerned only the United States 
and Spain. The Spanish government proclaimed on 
April 10 a suspension of hostilities, in deference to the 
wishes of the Pope and of the great European powers. 
It was reported officially to the United States govern- 
ment that this armistice was granted without conditions, 
though General Blanco’s proclamation declared that it 
was to continue only at the pleasure of the Spanish com- 
manders. The Cuban government, through Maximo 
Gomez, replied that it had not sought the armistice and 
would not accept it unless Spain agreed to evacuate 
Cuba. 

The President of the United States at last, on April 
11, laid the whole matter before Congress in a message 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 105 


which for calm moderation in the presence of unspeak- 
able provocation, for convincing logic, for lofty and un- 
selfish benevolence, for keen and just perception of exist- 
ing conditions, and for valorous resolution to deal with 
them in the only satisfactory way, must take high rank 
among the great historic state documents of the world. 
After reviewing the story of the Cuban revolution and 
the condition into which it had plunged the island, he 
said: ‘The war in Cuba is of such a nature that, short 
of subjugation or extermination, a military victory for 
either side seems impracticable.” Then, recounting the 
efforts of the United States to effect a just settlement by 
negotiation, he added: ‘“The only hope of relief and re- 
pose from a condition which can no longer be endured is 
the enforced pacification of Cuba. In the name of hu- 
manity, in the name of civilization, in behalf of en- 
dangered American interests which give us the right and 
duty to speak and to act, the war in Cuba must stop. In 
view of these facts and these considerations I ask the Con- 
gress to authorize and empower the President to take 
measures to secure a full and final termination of hostili- 
ties between the government of Spain and the people of 
Cuba, and to secure in the island the establishment of a 
stable government capable of maintaining order and ob- 
serving its international obligations, insuring peace and 
tranquillity and the security of its citizens as well as our 
own, and to use the military and naval forces of the 
United States as may be necessary for these purposes.” 
It is to be observed that the President spoke of the war 
“between the government of Spain and the Cuban peo- 
ple’—the Cuban people, not the Cuban government. 
There had as yet been no official recognition of the 
Cuban government, either as independent or as belliger- 
ent, and the President could therefore not properly refer 


106 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


to it. At the same time he spoke of “the Cuban people” 
and not of merely a part of them, recognizing by infer- 
ence that fact that the Cuban people were substantially 
a unit in revolting against Spain and in demanding in- 
dependence. 

Spain made it clear that she bitterly resented what 
she regarded as the unwarrantable meddling of the 
United States in Cuban affairs, and that she would pre- 
fer war to yielding to that meddling. France and Aus- 
tria, at German suggestion, made one more effort at 
mediation by the great powers, but abandoned it when 
Great Britain refused to have anything to do with it and 
indicated clearly her sympathy with the United States. 

Finally, on April 20 President McKinley signed the 
act of Congress which was made in response to his mes- 
sage of April 11. That memorable act, the Magna 
Charta of the Cuban Republic, declared that the people 
of Cuba were and of right ought to be free and inde- 
pendent; that it was the duty of the United States to 
demand, and it accordingly did demand, that Spain 
should immediately relinquish her authority and govern- 
ment in Cuba and withdraw her military and naval forces 
from that island and its waters; that the President be 
authorized to employ the army and navy of the United 
States as might be necessary to carry these resolutions 
into effect; and that the United States disclaimed any 
disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdic- 
tion or control over Cuba, except for the pacification 
thereof, and asserted its determination, when that was 
accomplished, to leave the government and control of the 
island to its people. 

Before signing this act the President cabled its sub- 
stance to General Woodford at Madrid, in an ultimatum 
to the Spanish government, giving Spain three days in 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 107 


which to comply with the demands. Before the three 
days expired the Spanish Minister at Washington asked 
for his passports and departed, and the Spanish govern- 
ment notified General Woodford that diplomatic relations 
between the two countries were at anend. He thereupon 
took his passports and departed. It should be added 
that on April 21 the Autonomist government of Cuba 
issued a proclamation to the people of the island, urging 
them to unite in support of the Spanish government in its 
resistance to the war of conquest which the United States 
was about to wage for the seizure and annexation of the 
island. ‘The success of the United States, it added, would 
mean that Cuba would be subjugated, dominated and ab- 
sorbed by an alien race, opposed to Cubans in tempera- 
ment, traditions, language, religion and customs. 

Thus the War of Independence entered a new and final 
phase, with the armed might of the United States assisting 
that Cuban cause the success of which had already become 
practically certain. The Cuban army rapidly grew in 
numbers and improved in morale, and was of course 
abundantly supplied with arms and ammunition, while 
the sending of reenforcements and supplies to the Span- 
iards was interfered with by the United States navy. As 
soon as the state of war began three United States agents 
were sent to Cuba, to investigate the condition and 
strength of the revolutionary army, and to arrange for its 
reenforcement and for cooperation between it and the 
American troops. Lieutenant Henry Whitney was thus 
sent to visit Maximo Gomez in the centre of the island; 
Lieutenant A. S. Rowan was sent to Oriente, and Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel J. H. Dorst was sent to Pinar del Rio. 

Lieutenant Whitney reached the camp of Gomez in 
Santa Clara Province on April 28, found affairs in a 
most promising state, and arranged for the prompt for- 


108 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


warding of supplies and of a considerable company of 
Cubans who had been enlisted in the United States for the 
revolutionary army. Gomez had an effective force of 
3,000 men, and reenforcements of 750 under General 
Lacret, with supplies of food and munitions, were prom- 
ised him. But the expeditions, in two steamers, failed to 
reach him, and after waiting for them on the coast for twa 
weeks, until his supplies of food were exhausted, he was 
compelled to disband his army. Domingo Mendez Ca- 
pote, Vice-President of the Cuban Republic, hastened to 
Washington, to explain to the government the urgent need 
of sending supplies, and as a result renewed efforts were 
made to land expeditions, but with little success. 

The mission of Lieutenant-Colonel Dorst to Pinar del 
Rio was similarly unsuccessful. A few United States 
troops were landed under protection of the fire of gun- 
boats, on May 12, but an attempt to deliver a great cargo 
of rifles and cartridges to the Cubans was defeated by 
the Spaniards, and the American troops were compelled 
to return to their ship and depart. 

In Oriente Lieutenant Rowan was more successful, 
owing to the fact that few Spanish forces remained in that 
province. He found the Spanish, indeed, in possession 
of only the three towns of Santiago, Bayamo and Man- 
zanillo, and the forts along the railroad; and on April 
29 they evacuated Manzanillo, which was thereupon oc- 
cupied by Calixto Garcia. Lieutenant Rowan reported 
to Washington that Garcia was able to put 8,000 efficient 
troops in the field, and presently considerable supplies 
were sent to him with little difficulty. 

Perhaps the most significant information obtained by 
these American envoys, and particularly by Lieutenant 
Whitney in his visit to the Cuban Commander in Chief, 
was that the Cubans, while exulting in American inter- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 109 


vention, did not welcome but rather deprecated American 
invasion of the island. Maximo Gomez said frankly 
that he would prefer that not a single American soldier 
should set foot on the island, unless it were a force of 
artillery, which was an arm in which the Cubans were 
sorely lacking. All he asked was that the United States 
should supply the Cubans with arms and ammunition, 
and prevent supplies from reaching the Spaniards. If 
that were done, the Cubans would do the rest, and would 
expel the Spanish from the island without the loss of a 
single drop of American blood. 

The reasons for this reluctance to have American 
troops invade the island were chiefly two. One was a 
certain praiseworthy pride in Cuban achievements and a 
desire to retain for Cubans the credit of winning their 
own independence. Gomez and his comrades had been 
fighting to that end for years, and they wanted the satis- 
faction of completing the job and of gaining for Cuba 
herself the glory of victory. The other reason was the 
very natural fear that American invasion and occupation 
of the island would mean American annexation, or at 
least perpetual American domination of Cuban affairs. 
It seemed contrary to human nature, contrary to all the 
experience and examples of the past, that it should not be 
so. Of course, there was the promise in the act of inter- 
vention, that the United States would leave the govern- 
ment of the island to its own people. But it is probable 
that only a very small percentage of Cubans ever so much 
as heard of it, while it would be surprising if more than 
a small minority of those who did know of it had any real 
confidence that it would be fulfilled. It will be recalled 
that a very considerable proportion of the people of the 
United States regarded that pledge as mere ‘“buncombe’”’ 
and declared unhesitatingly that it would not be permitted 


110 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


for one moment to stand in the way of the annexation of 
Cuba. Truly, it would have been miraculous if Cubans 
had esteemed the integrity of an American promise more 
highly than Americans themselves. 

The first weeks of the war were confined chiefly to 
naval operations. A blockade of Cuban ports was estab- 
lished and — well maintained, beginning along the 

< central and western part of 
the north coast on April 22. 
A number of small Spanish 
vessels were captured, and 
there were some bombard- 
ments of shore towns and ex- 
changes of shots with Span- 
ish gunboats. Despite the 
vigilance of the American 
scouts and blockading squad- 
rons, Admiral Cervera with 
several powerful Spanish warships, sailing from Cadiz 
on April 8 and touching at Martinique on May 11, suc- 
ceeded in entering the harbor of Santiago on May 19. 
There he was soon besieged by a more por Amer- 
ican fleet under the command of 
Commodore, afterward Admiral, 
Schley; who on June 1 was joined 
by Admiral Sampson, who there- 
after took command. Lieutenant 
Victor Blue was sent ashore on 2 
June 11, to make a long detour 
’ to the hills back of the city, from 
which he was able to see and 
identify the Spanish _ ships. 
Meantime Lieutenant Richmond 
P. Hobson with seven picked men in the early morning of 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 111 


June 3 took the big coal hulk Merrimac in to the narrow- 
est part of the harbor entrance and there sunk it with a 
torpedo, hoping thus to block the passage and prevent 
Cervera’s ships from coming out. The exploit was not 
entirely successful, the vessel not being sunk at quite the 
right point, though it did make exit much more difficult. 
Hobson and his comrades were taken prisoners by the 
Spaniards, but were treated with distinguished courtesy 
and consideration in recognition of their daring exploit. 
Thereafter the blockading fleet kept close watch day and 
night upon the harbor mouth, brilliantly illuminating it 
with searchlights all night, to prevent the escape of the 
Spanish fleet. 

Meanwhile General Nelson A. Miles, commander of 
the United States army, was preparing for an invasion of 
the island. The Fifth Army Corps was organized at 
Tampa, Florida, under the command of Major-General 
William R. Shafter, and on June 14 was embarked on a 
fleet of 37 transports. This fleet sailed around Cape 
Maysi to the southern coast of Cuba, and on June 21 was 
off Santiago. General Shafter and Admiral Sampson 
went ashore to confer with General Calixto Garcia at his 
camp at Acerradero, and found the situation by no means 
as encouraging as they had hoped. Garcia had only 
about 3,500 Cubans in his force, and they were not all 
well armed, and there were 1,000 more at Guantanamo. 
General Shafter’s army numbered fewer than 16,000 
men. Against these the Spaniards under General Lina- 
res numbered about 40,000. 

Averse as the Cubans had been to the landing of Amer- 
ican troops, General Garcia accepted the inevitable, and 
promptly offered to place all his men under General 
Shafter’s command. General Shafter accepted the offer, 
though he reminded General Garcia that he could exer- 


112 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


cise no control over the troops beyond what he, Garcia, 
authorized. He of course saw to it that they were abun- 
dantly supplied with arms and ammunition. Garcia’s 
troops were then employed very effectively in protecting 
the landing of the American troops, at Daiquiri; 6,000 
of them being put ashore on June 22 and the remainder 


OLD FORT AT EL CANEY, WRECKED BY FIGHTING OF JULY, 1898 


in the next two days. General Henry W. Lawton 
promptly led the advance to Siboney, from which the 
Spaniards were driven, being pursued after their evacua- 
tion by the Cubans under General Castillo. 

The next attack was made upon the Spaniards at Las 
Guasimas, an action in which material aid was rendered 
by Cubans, and which resulted in the Spaniards being 
driven back a mile or more. By June 25 the Americans 
were on the Ridge of Sevilla, looking down upon Santi- 
ago, only six miles away, and two days later their out- 
posts were within three miles of the city. There followed 
on July 1 a desperate contest at the fortified village of El 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 113 


Caney, resulting in the capture of that place by storm, 
with great slaughter of the Spanish, who held their 
ground with stubborn valor. Simultaneously an attack 
was made by another part of the American forces upon 
Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill, where heavy losses were 
sustained on both sides. ‘The climax of this engagement 
was a charge of Wheeler’s division, the Tenth Cavalry, 
against the Spanish entrenched lines. The van of this 
division was occupied by the “Rough Riders” regiment, 
an organization recruited chiefly S 
among western plainsmen and 
“cowboys” by Theodore Roose- 
velt, who had resigned the Assist- 
ant Secretaryship of the Navy 
thus to engage in active service. 
The charge was led by Colonel 
Roosevelt in person, though he ‘\W 
was in fact second in command \\ ANG 
of the regiment, the chief com- \ 
mand of which he had declined = ™7BODOR# ROOSEVELT 

in favor of his friend Leonard Wood, who was destined 
to play one of the greatest parts in the establishment 
of Cuban independence. In this hot engagement the 
Americans were also completely victorious. 

General Pando was now rushing 8,000 Spanish troops 
from the west to reinforce General Linares at Santiago, 
and Calixto Garcia with his Cuban forces undertook to 
hold him in check, though he was greatly outnumbered by 
the Spanish. On July 2 fighting was resumed, the Span- 
ish assuming the aggressive, and before the day was done 
the Americans, greatly outnumbered and exhausted by the 
incessant fighting and the heat of the weather, began seri- 
ously considering withdrawal from positions which they 
feared they would not be able to hold. General Shafter 


114 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


urged Admiral Sampson to aid him by making an attack 
upon the city with his fleet, but the latter demurred on ac- 
count of the danger of entering a mined harbor. It was 
arranged that the two commanders should meet again for 


MONUMENTS ON SAN JUAN HILL, NEAR SANTIAGO 


another council of war on the morning of July 3, and 
Admiral Sampson actually started up the coast toward 
Siboney for that purpose, when a dramatic event in a 
twinkling transformed the whole situation. 

This was the unexpected emergence of the Spanish fleet 
from the Santiago harbor, on the morning of July 3, ina 
desperate attempt to break through the American blockade 
and fight their way around to Havana. In Admiral 
Sampson’s temporary absence the command devolved 
upon Admiral Schley, and orders instantly were given 
to close in and engage the Spanish ships. The latter 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 115 


were four in number, the Maria Teresa, the Vizcaya, the 
Colon and the Oquendo, with two torpedo boats, Pluton 
and Terror. Admiral Sampson quickly retraced his 
course but did not arrive until the close of the fight, which 
raged for hours, along the coast for fifty miles westward 
from Santiago. The result was the destruction of every 
one of the Spanish ships and the killing of one-third of 
their crews. Admiral Cervera with 1,200 men surren- 
dered. On the American side only one man was killed 
and three were wounded, and <— 

not one of the ships was seri- 
ously damaged. 

The Spaniards now knew 
that Santiago was doomed, 
though they continued to hold 
out with stubborn valor. On 
the night of July 4 they sank “7 
a vessel in the harbor mouth, 
in emulation of  Hobson’s Z 
deed, to shut the American aaah reas ieatl 
fleet out, but failed to get it in the right place. Prepa- 
rations were made for a joint attack by army and fleet 
on July 9, a truce being arranged until that date, and 
thereafter more or less continuous fighting prevailed, 
without important results, for three days. On July 12 
General Toral, who had taken the Spanish command in 
place of General Linares, who was wounded at San Juan 
Hill, entered into negotiations with General Miles and 
General Wheeler, and on July 17 terms of surrender were 
adopted. All the Spanish troops in Oriente save 10,000 
at Holguin, were surrendered, about 22,000 in all. Some 
minor naval operations followed at Manzanillo and Nipe, 
but there was no more serious fighting. For all practi- 
cal purposes the war was ended. 


116 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


The next step was taken in behalf of Spain by the 
French Ambassador at Washington, Spain having com- 
mitted to the French government the care of her diplo- 
matic interests in America. M. Cambon on July 26 in- 
quired of President McKinley if he would consider nego- 
tiations for peace. The President replied on July 30 


Bia) j 
WS) wpe. 
ND M Ge OX 
DS $ wx 
AT EN yoy 
caer SS 


PEACE TREE NEAR SANTIAGO, UNDER WHICH SPANISH COMMANDER OF 
SANTIAGO CAPITULATED JULY 16, 1898 
that he was willing to discuss peace on the basis of certain 
conditions, the first of which was that Spain should re- 
linquish all claim of sovereignty over or title to the island 
of Cuba, and should immediately evacuate that island. 
That was significant. It indicated that the United States 
purposed to fulfil its pledge concerning the independence 
of Cuba. The next condition was that Spain should cede 
to the United States the island of Porto Rico. But there 
was no hint at her cession of Cuba to the United States. 
She was merely to renounce her own sovereignty. These 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 117 


conditions were accepted by the Spanish government 
through M. Cambon on August 12; the naval and mili- 
tary commanders on both sides were ordered to cease hos- 
tilities, the blockade of Cuba was discontinued; and the 
War of Independence was at a triumphant end. 


CHAPTER VIII 


FOLLOWING the protocol and the cessation of hostili- 
ties, two major tasks were to be performed. One was to 
remove the Spanish forces from the island and to estab- 
lish permanent terms of peace, and the other was to or- 
ganize and establish a permanent Cuban government. 

The former of these was promptly undertaken, by the 
governments of the United States and Spain. A joint 
commission arranged the details of evacuation, which 
was a formidable undertaking because of the number of 
persons to be transported and the paucity of shipping 
facilities at the command of the Peninsular government. 
The city of Havana was not evacuated until January 1, 
1899, and the last Spanish troops were not removed from 
the island until the middle of February following. 
There were about 130,000 officers and soldiers trans- 
ported, together with some 15,000 military and civilian 
employes and their families. 

Simultaneously the task of treaty-making proceeded. 
President McKinley on August 26 appointed five Com- 
missioners to conduct the negotiations. ‘They were Wil- 
liam R. Day, Secretary of State, Chairman; Cushman 
K. Davis, Senator; William P. Frye, Senator; Whitelaw 
Reid, Ambassador; and Edward D. White, Justice of the 
Supreme Court. Mr. White found himself unable to 
serve, and on September 9 George Gray, Senator, was ap- 
pointed in his place. The Spanish government named 
as Commissioners five of Spain’s foremost statesmen: 
Eugenio Montero Rios, Buenaventura d’Abarzuza, Jose 


de Garnica, Wenceslao Ramirez de Villa Urrutia, and 
118 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 119 


Rafael Cerero. The Commissioners began their deliber- 
ations in Paris on October 1. 

The first question discussed was the disposition of 
Cuba, and over it strong disagreement arose on two major 
points. The Spanish Commissioners declined to recog- 
nize the existence of any Cuban government, and argued 
that as there was no such government, and as Spain in 
relinquishing sovereignty over the island could not let 
that sovereignty lapse but must transfer it to some other 
responsible and competent power, the United States 
should accept cession of Cuba to it; which Spain was 
willing to grant. The American Commissioners replied 
that the United States was pledged not to annex the island, 
and as a matter of fact did not intend to do so and there- 
fore could not and would not accept cession of the island 
to itself. Spain in the protocol had agreed to renounce 
her sovereignty without any stipulations further, and by 
that arrangement she must abide. The United States 
would, however, make itself responsible for the due ob- 
servance of international law in Cuba so long as its occu- 
pation of the island lasted. The Spaniards were reluc- 
tant to yield, as a matter of pride and sentiment preferring 
to give Cuba to the United States rather than to surrender 
it to the insurgent Cubans. But the American Commis- 
sioners were resolute, and on October 27 the first article 
of the treaty was adopted; to wit: 

‘Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and 
title to Cuba. 

“And as the island is, on its evacuation by Spain, to be 
occupied by the United States, the United States will, so 
long as such occupation shall last, assume and discharge 
the obligations that may under international law result 
from the fact of its occupation for the protection of life 
and property.” 


120 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


This was clear and unmistakable notice to the world 
that the ‘American government intended to fulfil its 
pledge, not to annex Cuba but to render that island to the 
control and government of its own people. True, not yet 
were all convinced that this would be done. The Span- 
iards were courteously skeptical. A considerable faction 
in the United States, half “Jingo” and half sordid, in- 
sisted that the island must be annexed. The majority 
of Cubans, inclined to judge all governments by their 
bitter experiences with that of Spain, were frankly in- 
credulous, not understanding how any government could 
be thus altruistic and self-denying. 

The second point of dispute was that of the Cuban 
debt. The Spanish government for years had been 
charging against Cuba the cost of maintaining an army 
for its subjugation and the costs of suppressing the vari- 
ous insurrections that had occurred, and the Commission- 
ers proposed that all that enormous debt should be 
saddled upon the island and made a first charge upon its 
customs revenues. To this the American Commissioners 
demurred. Cuba had for centuries been “the milch cow 
of Spain,” and had given to Spain far more than she had 
ever received in return. It would be monstrous injustice 
to burden a people with the cost of subjugating them and 
keeping them in slavery. In the end the Spanish Com- 
missioners yielded, and no mention was made in the 
treaty of any debt resting upon Cuba. 

It was further agreed that both parties should release 
and repatriate all prisoners of war, and that the United 
States would undertake to obtain such release of all Span- 
ish prisoners held by the Cubans. Each party relin- 
quished all claims for indemnity of any and every kind 
which had arisen since the beginning of the Cuban war. 
Spain relinquished in Cuba all immovable property be- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 121 


longing to the public domain and to the crown of Spain; 
such relinquishment not impairing lawful property rights 
of municipalities, corporations or individuals. Spanish 
subjects were to be free to remain in Cuba or to remove 
therefrom, in either event retaining full property rights; 
and in the former case being free to become Cuban citi- 
zens or to retain their allegiance to Spain; and they were 
to be secured in the free exercise of their religion. There 
were various other stipulations, such as are customary in 
treaties, intended to assure Spain and Spaniards of 
equitable treatment and relationships in Cuba. It was 
added that the obligations of the United States in Cuba 
were to be limited to the period of its occupation of that 
island; but upon the termination of that occupation the 
United States promised to advise the succeeding Cuban 
government to assume the same obligations. The treaty 
was finally agreed to and signed on December 10, 1898, 
and it was ratified by the United States Senate on Febru- 
ary 6, 1899. 

General Ramon Blanco meanwhile, on November 26, 
1898, resigned the Governor-Generalship of Cuba and 
returned to Spain. To General Jiminez Castellanos was 
left the unwelcome duty of holding nominal sway for a 
few weeks and then surrendering the sovereignty of four 
centuries to an alien power. Already American troops 
were in actual occupation and control of nearly all the 
island. In the latter part of December, 1898, the Seventh 
Army Corps, commanded by Major-General Fitzhugh 
Lee, was brought into the outskirts of Havana in readi- 
ness for the final function which was to be performed on 
the first day of the new year. 

The end came. It was on January 1, 1899. Four 
hundred and six years, two months and three days before, 
the first Spaniard had landed upon Cuban soil and had 


122 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


planted there the quartered flag of Leon and Castile in 

token of sovereignty. Now, after all that lapse of time, 

largely, it must be confessed, ill spent and ill-improved, 

the Spanish flag was finally to be lowered and withdrawn, 
ta 


STAs Fe 
ug eat ; 
Si! 


PART OF OLD CITY WALL OF HAVANA, STILL STANDING 


in token of the passing away of Spanish sovereignty for- 
ever from the soil of Cuba. 

The ceremonies were brief and simple; far more brief 
and simple, we may well believe, than were those with 
which the imaginative and exuberant Admiral proclaimed 
possession of the island centuries before. ‘The official 
representatives of Spain and the United States met at 
noon in the Hall of State in the Governor’s Palace, the 
scene of so many proud and imperious events in Spanish 
colonial history. On the one side the chief was General 
Jiminez Castellanos, the last successor of Velasquez. On 
the other, Major-General John R. Brooke. The one was 
the last of a long, long line of Spanish Governors-Gen- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 123 


eral; the other was the first of a brief succession of Ameri- 
can Military Governors who were soon to give way to an 
unending line of native Cuban Republican Presidents 
and Congresses. With a sad heart, with tear-suffused 
eyes, and with a hand that trembled to hold a pen far 
more than ever it had to wield a sword, General Jiminez 
Castellanos signed the document which abdicated and 
relinquished Spanish sovereignty in that Pearl of the 
Antilles which was nevermore to be known as the ‘“‘Ever 
Faithful Isle.” The crimson and gold barred banner of 
Spain descended. The Stars and Stripes rose in its 
place. The deed was done. The final settlement was 
made with Spain. 

For three hundred and eighty-seven years Spain had 
been the sovereign of Cuba, exercising her power through 
one hundred and thirty-six administrations, of which the 
first was one of the longest and the last was one of the 
shortest. It will be worth our while to recall the roll, 
which bears some of the noblest and some of the vilest 
names in Spanish history: 


No. Date 

i ‘512 Diego Velasquez, Lieuten- 
ant-Governor 

2 1524 Manuel de Rojas, Lieuten- 
ant-Governor, provi- 
sional 

3 1525 Juan de Altamirano, Lieu- 

tenant-Governor, 

4 1526 Gonzalo de Guzman, Lieu- 
tenant-General 

5 1532 Manuel de Rojas, Lieuten- 
ant-Governor, provi- 


sional 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Date 
1535 


1538 


1544 


1546 


1550 


1556 


1565 


1568 


1573 


USF? 


1579 


1581 


1589 


1594 


1602 


1608 


Gonzalo de Guzman, Lieu- 
tenant-Governor 

Hernando de Soto, Gov- 
ernor-General 

Juan de Avila, Governor- 
General 

Antonio Chavez, Governor- 
General 

Gonzalo Perez de Angulo, 
Governor-General 

Diego de Mazariegos, Gov- 
ernor-General 

Francisco Garcia Osorio, 
Governor-General 

Pedro Menendez de Avilas, 
Governor-General 

Gabriel Montalvo, Goy- 
ernor-General 

Francisco Carreno, Gov- 
ernor-General 

Gaspar de Torres, Gov- 
ernor-General, _ provi- 
sional 

Gabriel de Lujan, Captain- 
General 

Juan de Tejada, Captain- 
General 

Juan Maldonado Balnuevo, 
Captain-General 

Pedro Valdes Balnuevo, 
Captain-General 

Gaspar Ruiz de Pereda, 
Captain-General 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 125 


Date 
1616 


1620 
1620 


Aug. 14, 1620 


1624 


1624 
1625 
1630 
1634 
1639 
1647 
1653 
1655 


1658 


Sancho de Alguizaz, Cap- 
tain-General 

Geronimo de Quero, Cap- 
tain-General, provisional 

Diego Vallejo, Captain- 
General 

Francisco de Venegas, Cap- 
tain-General 

Juan Esquivil, Captain- 
General, provisional 

Juan Riva Martin, Cap- 
tain-General, provisional 

Garcia Giron de Loaysa, 
Captain-General, provi- 
sional 

Cristobal de Aranda, Cap- 
tain-General, provisional 

Lorenzo de Cabrera, Cap- 
tain-General 

Juan Bitrian de Viamontes, 
Captain-General 

Francisco Riano de Gam- 
boa, Captain-General 

Alvaro de Luna, Captain- 
General 

Diego de Villalba, Captain- 
General 

Francisco Xeldes, Captain- 
General 

Juan Montano, Captain- 
General 

Juan de Salamanca, Cap- 
tain-General 


126 


No. 


38 
39 


40 


41 
42 
43 


44 


45 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 


52 


53 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Date 
1663 


1664 


1670 


1680 


1685 


1687 


1689 


1695 


~ 1702 


1705 


1706 


1708 


1711 


1713 


Rodrigo de Flores, Cap- 
tain-General 

Francisco Dairle, Captain- 
General 

Francisco de Ledesma, 
Captain-General 

Jose Fernandez de Cor- 
doba, Captain-General 

Andres Munibe, Captain- 
General, provisional 

Manuel Murguia, Captain- 
General, Provisional 

Diego de Viana, Captain- 
General 

Severino de Manraneda, 
Captain-General 

Diego de Cordoba, Cap- 
tain-General 

Pedro Benites de Lugo, 
Captain-General 

Nicolas Chirino, Captain- 
General, provisional 

Luis Chacon, Captain-Gen- 
eral, provisional 

Pedro Alvares_ Villarin, 
Captain-General 

Laureano de Torres, Cap- 
tain-General 

Luis Chacon, Captain-Gen 
eral 

Laureano de Torres, Cap- 
tain-General 


68 


69 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 127 


Date 
1716 


1717 
1717 
1724 
1734 


1745 


1745 
1747 
1760 


1761 


July 1, 1762 


June, 1765 


July, 1765 


March 19, 1766 
ee 


June, 1777 


Vicente Baja, Captain- 
General 

Gomez de Alvarez, Cap- 
tain-General 

Gregorio Guazo, Captain- 
General 

Dionisio Martinez, Cap- 
tain-General 

Juan F. Guemes, Captain- 
General 

Juan A. Tineo, Captain- 
General 

Diego Pinalosa, Captain- 
General 

Francisco Cagigal, Cap- 
tain-General 

Pedro Alonso, Captain- 
General 

Juan de Prado Portocar- 
rero, Captain-General 

Ambrosio Villapando, 
Count of Riela, Captain- 
General 

Diego Manrique, Captain- 
General 

Pasual Jimenez de Cisne- 
ros, | Captain-General, 
provisional 

Antonio M. Bucarely, Cap- 
tain-General 

Marques de la Torre, Cap- 
tain-General 

Diego J. Navarro, Captain- 
General 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Date 
May, 1781 


1782 


1785 


Dec. 28, 1785 
Apr. 20, 1789 
July 8, 1790 
Dec. 6, 1796 
May 13, 1799 
Apr. 14, 1812 
July 2, 1816 
Apr. 20, 1819 
Mar. 3, 1821 
July 2, 1823 


May 2, 1823 


Juan M. Cagigal, Captain- 
General 

Luis de Unzaga, Captain- 
General, provisional 

Bernardo Troncoso, Cap- 
tain-General, provisional 

Jose Espeleta, Captain- 
General, provisional 

Domingo Cabello, Captain- 
General, provisional 

Jose Espeleta, Captain- 
General 

Domingo Cabello, Captain- 
General, provisional 

Luis de las Casas, Cap- 
tain-General 

Juan Bassecourt, Captain- 
General 

Salvador de Muro, Cap- 
tain-General 

Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, 
Captain-General 

Jose Cienfuegos, Captain- 
General 

Juan M. Cagigal, Captain- 
General 

Nicolas de Mahy, Captain- 
General 

Sebastian Kindelan, Cap- 
tain-General, provisional 

Dionisio Vives. Given ab- 
solute authority by royal 
decree, 1821 


93 


94 


95 


96 


97 


98 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 129 


Date 
May 2, 1832 


June 1, 1834 


From June 1, 1834, 
to Apr. 16, 1838 


From Apr. 16, 1838, 
to Feb., 1840 

Feb., 1840, to May 
10, 1841 


From May 10, 1841, 
to Sept. 15, 1843 
From ) sept. 15,) to 

Oct. 26, 1843 


From Oct. 26, 1843, 
to Mar. 20, 1848 


From Mar. 20, 1848, 
to Nov. 13, 1850 
From Nov. 13, 1850, 
to Apr. 22, 1852 
From Apr. 22, 1852, 
to Dec. 3, 1853 
From Dec. 3, 1853, 
to Sept. 21, 1854 


From Sept. 14, 1854, 
to Nov. 24, 1859 


Mariano Rocafort. Given 
absolute authority by 
royal decree, 1825 

Miguel Tacon. Given ab- 
solute authority by royal 
decree of 1825 

Lt.-Gen. Miguel Tacon y 
Rosique, Captain-Gen- 
eral 

Lieut. Gen. Joaquin Espe- 
leta y Enrille 

Lieut. Gen. Pedro Tellez 
de Gironm, Prince of 
Anglona 

Lieut. Gen. Geronimo Val- 
des y Sierra 

Lieut. Gen. of the Royal 
Navy, Francis Xavier de 
Ulloa, provisional 

Lieut. Gen. Leopoldo 
O’Donnell y Joris, Count 
of Lucena. 

Lieut. Gen. Federico Ron- 
cali, Count of Alcoy 

Lieut. Gen. Jose Gutierrez 
de la Concha 

Lieut. Gen. Valentin Ca- 
nedo Miranda 

Lieut. Gen. Juan de la 
Pezuela, Marquis of de 
la Pezuela 

Lieut. Gen. Jose Gutierrez 
de la Concha, Marquis 


130 


110 


112 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Date 


From Nov. 14, 1859, 
to Dec. 10, 1862 
From Dec. 10, 1862, 
to May 30, 1866 
From May 20, 1866, 
to Nov. 3, 1866 
From Nov. 3, 1866, 

to Sept. 24, 1867 
on which date he 
died 
From Sept. 24, 1867, 
to Dec. 12, 1867 
From Dec. 13, 1867, 
to Jan. 4, 1869 
From Jan. 4, 1869, 
to June 2, 1869 
From June 2, 1869, 
to June 28, 1869 
From June 28, 1869, 
to Dec. 15, 1870 


From Dec. 15, 1870, 
to July 11, 1872 
From July 11, 1872, 
to Apr. 18, 1873 
From Apr. 18, 1873, 
to Nov. 4, 1873 
From Nov. 4, 1873, 
to Apr. 7, 1874 
From Apr. 7, 1874, 
to May 8, 1875 


of Haban, second time 
Lieut. Gen. Francisco Ser- 
rano, Duke de la Torre 
Lieut. Gen. Domingo Dulce 
y Garay 
Lieut. Gen. Francisco Ler- 
sundi 
Lieut. Gen. Joaquin del 
Manzano y Manzano 


Lieut. Gen. Blas Villate, 
Count of Valmaseda 

Lieut. Gen. Francisco Ler- 
sundi 

Lieut. Gen. Domingo Dulce 
y Garay, second time 

Lieut. Gen. Felipe Ginoves 
del Espinar, provisional 

Lieut. Gen. Antonio Fer- 
nandez y Caballero de 
Rodas 

Lieut. Gen. Blas Villate, 
Count of Valmaseda, 

Lieut. Gen. Francisco Ce- 
ballos y Vargas 

Lieut. Gen. Candido Piel- 
tain y Jove-Huelgo 

Lieut. Gen. Joaquin Jovel- 
lar y Soler 

Lieut. Gen. José Gutierrez 
de la Concha, Marquis of 
Habana 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


No. Date 

113 From May 8, 1875, 
to June 8, 1875 

114 From June 8, 1875, 
to Jan. 18, 1876 


ie, Prom Jan: 18, 1876, 
to June 18, 1878 
116 From Oct. 8, 1876, 
to Feb. 5, 1879 
Hy From Feb, 5, 1879, 
to Apr. 17, 1879 
118 From Apr. 17, 1879, 


to Nov. 28, 1881 


119 From Nov. 28, 1881, 
to Aug. 5, 1883 
120 From. Aug. 5, 1883, 
to Sept. 28, 1883 
121 From Sept. 28, 1883, 
to Nov. 8, 1884 
122 From Nov. 8, 1884, 


to Mar. 25, 1886 
From Mar. 25, 1886, 
to July 15, 1887 


123 


124 From July 15, 1887, 
to Mar. 13, 1889 
125 From Mar. 13, 1889, 


died Feb. 6, 1890 


131 


Lieut. Gen. Buenaventura 
Carbo, provisional 

Lieut. Gen. Blas Villate, 
Count of Valmaseda, 
third time 

Lieut. Gen. Joaquin Jovel- 
lar y Soler. He was 
under Martinez Campos, 
who was the general in 
chief 

Lieut. Gen. Arsenio Mar- 
tinez Campos 

Lieut. Gen. Cayetano Figu- 
eroa y Garaondo, provi- 
sional 

Lieut. Gen. Ramon Blanco 
y Erenas 

Lieut. Gen. Luis Prender- 
gast y Gordon, Marquis 
of Victoria de las Tunas 

Lieut. Gen. of Division 
Tomas de Reyan y 
Reyna, provisional 

Lieut. Gen. Ignacio Maria 
del Castillo 

Lieut. Gen. Ramon Fajardo 
e Izquierdo 

Lieut. Gen. Emilio Calleja 
e Isasi 

Lieut. Gen. Saba Marin y 
Gonzalez 

Lieut. Gen. Manuel Sala- 
manca y Begrete 


t3Z 
No. Date 
126 From Mar. 13, 1889, 
to Apr. 4, 1890 
127 From Apr. 4, 1890, 
to Aug. 20, 1890 
128 From Aug. 20, 1890, . 
to June 20, 1892 
129 From June 20, 1892; 
died July 15, 1893 
130 From July 15, 1893, 
to Sept. 5, 1893 
131% From, Septsis; 1893; 
to Apr. 16, 1895 
132 From Apr. 16, 1895, 
to Jan. 20, 1896 
133 From Jan. 20, 1896, 
to Feb. 11, 1896 
134 From Feb. 11, 1896, 
to Oct. 31, 1897 
135. From Oct. 31,.1897, 
to Nov. 30, 1898 
136 From Nov. 30, 1898, 


to Jan. 1, 1899, at 


12 noon. 


There must be added an unwelcome note. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


General of Division Jose 
Sanchez Gomez, provi- 
sional 

Lieut. Gen. Jose Chinchilla 
y Diez de Onate 

Lieut. Gen. Camilo Pola- 
vieja y del Castillo 

Lieut. Gen. Alejandro Rod- 
riguez Arias 

General of Division Jose 
Arderius y Garcia, pro- 
visional 

Lieut. Gen. Emilio Calleja 
e Isasi 

Captain Gen. Arsenio Mar- 
tinez Campos 

Lieut. Gen. Savas Marin y 
Gonzalez 

Lieut. Gen. Valeriano Wey- 
ler y Nicolau 

Capt. Gen. Ramon Blanco 
y Erenas 

Lieut. Gen. Adolfo Jimines 
Castellanos 


The Span- 


iards—not their high officials—left most ungraciously. 
It is not to be wondered at that they were sad, that they 
were sullen, that they were resentful; that they were fear- 
ful lest the Cubans should rise against them at the last 
moment and inflict upon them vengeance for the treas- 
ured wrongs of many years. But there was of course no 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 133 


such uprising. The Cubans wished to make the day an 
occasion of great public celebration, but the authorities— 
Cuban and American as well as Spanish—would not per- 
mit it. It was not courteous to exult over a beaten foe. 
Besides, any such celebration would have caused great 
danger of trouble. What was inexcusable, however, was 
the condition in which the Spanish left all public build- 
ings. ‘They looted and gutted them of everything that 
could be removed. ‘They destroyed the plumbing and 
lighting fixtures. They broke or choked up the drains. 
They left every place in an indescribably filthy condi- 
tion. ‘There was nothing in all their record in Cuba more 
unbecoming than their manner of leaving it. Such was 
the last detail of the settlement with Spain. 

The settlement with Cuba came next. Indeed, it was 
concurrently undertaken. And it was by far the more 
formidable task of the two. It was necessary to arrange 
for the transfer of the temporary trust of the United States 
to a permanent Cuban authority, and to do so in circum- 
stances and conditions which would afford the largest 
possible degree of assurance of success. It is said that 
when the American flag was raised at Havana in token 
of temporary sovereignty, on January 1, 1899, an Ameri- 
can Senator among the spectators exclaimed, “That flag 
will never come down!’ There were also, doubtless, 
those among the Cuban spectators who thought and said 
that it should never have been raised, but that sovereignty 
should have been transferred directly from Spain to Cuba. 

Both were wrong; as both in time came to realize. It 
was necessary for the sake of good faith and justice that 
the American flag should in time come down and give 
place to the flag of Cuba. It was equally necessary for 
the sake of the welfare of Cuba and of its future prosper- 
ity and tranquillity that there should be a period of 


134 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


American stewardship preparatory to full independence. 

There was, as we have already indicated, some fric- 
tion between Cubans and Americans at the time of inter- 
vention in the Spring of 1898. The Cubans thought 
that the American army should not enter Cuba at all, 
save with an artillery force to serve as an adjunct to the 
Cuban army. On the other hand, Americans were too 
much inclined to disregard the Cuban army and Provi- 
sional Government, to forget what the Cubans had al- 
ready achieved, and to act as though the war were solely 
between the United States and Spain. When the actual 
landing of Shafter’s army was made, however, the Cubans 
accepted the fact loyally and gracefully, and gave the full- 
est possible measure of helpful cooperation. 

The Provisional Government of the Cuban Republic, 
as soon as hostilities were ended and negotiations for 
peace had begun, decided to summon another National 
Assembly to determine what should be done during the 
interval which should elapse before the United States 
placed the destinies of Cuba in the hands of Cubans. 
This decision was made at a meeting at Santa Cruz on 
September 1, at which were present the President, Bar- 
tolome Maso; the Vice-President, Mendez Capote; and 
the three Secretaries, Aleman, Fonts-Sterling and Moreno 
de la Torre. It was felt, and not without reason, that 
the Insular government and its forces had not received 
the recognition which was their due. Calixto Garcia 
and Francisco Estrada had given valuable participation 
in the siege and capture of Santiago, yet they were not 
permitted by General Shafter to participate in the cere- 
mony of the surrender of the Spanish forces, or even to 
be present on that exultant occasion. When the Ameri- 
cans thus took possession of Santiago and Oriente, the 
Cuban government, military and civil, was ignored, and 


As <a somes p prepa taie to 
< ere tS, as we have already indig 
tmeehex Cubans and Ameticans atiie€ 

+ Rigaeae: Ssh a Spring of. 1898. The: Cuba 


trl 


Lan Pactitiers: force to s Serve a$ Gt 
& #ftey. On. the other hand, Ameritas 
wmciened to disregard the Cuban arm 

eee! ¢+evernment, te forget what the Cabs : 
*y achieved, and to act as though the wa z ere 

cae | wenberg me a nited States and Spain. - th 
ios2taw of Shafter’s army was mi sre howe 


\ Bee the city wi | 
Mn, i b ft mid tiapee hefure the 1 ) 
piace) the destinies of C aba in. the has ey ul 
devision was made at a meeting at Santana 
September 1, at which were present the Presi 

ue Maso; the Vice-President, Mendez Ca ) 
three Secretaries, Aleman, Fonts-Sterling a 
Torre, It was felt, and not withoutime 
‘volar government and its forces hadi 
‘qognition which was their due. ..Cal 
stv) Frarcisco Estrada had given valuable pa 
ii Hie siege and capture of Santiago, yet they 
pevmitted by General Shafter to participate a 
jemy Gi the surrender of the $ Spanish forces, ¢ * 
be presi on that exultant occasion. Whenti ‘ 
ens thus tock possession of Sone and Orien 
‘ubaa government, military and civil) was igi 


* Se 


x 
Ww 
rd 
€ 
< 
.»s 
Si 
« 
= 
. 
£ 


4 


i 
\ 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 5." 


General Leonard Wood was made Military Governor 
just as though there was no Cuban government in exist- 
ence. 

During the months of the American blockade of the 
island, moreover, the Cubans had suffered perhaps even 
more than the Spanish from lack of supplies. It was 
felt that while it was well thus to deprive the Spanish 
army of supplies, the Cuban people ought not to have 
been left to suffer. After the armistice affairs remained 
in a distressing condition. The Cuban army was with- 
out food and without pay with which to purchase food; 
and the Provisional Government was powerless to help 
it or to help the starving civilian population. It had no 
funds, and of course could not now raise any either by 
taxation or by loans. Late in November some relief was 
afforded by the sending of food from the United States, 
but on the whole the conditions were unsatisfactory, and 
did not conduce to cordial confidence between the Cubans 
and the Americans. 

The National Assembly which had been called on Sep- 
tember 1 met at Santa Cruz on November 7, and resolved 
upon the disbandment of the Provisional Government, 
and the appointment of a special Commission to look after 
Cuban interests during the period of American occupa- 
tion. This Commission consisted of Domingo Mendez 
Capote, President; Ferdinand Freyre de Andrade, Vice- 
President; and Manuel M. Coronado and Dr. Porfirio 
Caliente, Secretaries. The army organization was to be 
retained, for the present, with General Maximo Gomez 
as Commander-in-Chief. 

The real crux of the situation, at the moment, was the 
demobilization of the Cuban army. This could not be 
done—Gomez would not consider it—until the men could 
be paid, and there was no money with which to pay them. 


136 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Among the 36,000 men on the rosters, there were said to 
be 20,000 who nad served two years or more, and who 
were entitled to pay. Gomez issued an appeal to the 
army and to the Cuban people generally to accept loyally 
the temporary American occupation and to cooperate with 
the Americans in the reestablishment of order and the de- 
velopment of governmental institutions, in order that at 
the earliest possible moment Cuba might be able to assume 
the whole task of self government. At the same time he 
urgently requested the United States government to ad- 
vance money with which to pay off the soldiers, in order 
that the army might be disbanded and the men might 
return to their homes and their work, and thus restore the 
industrial prosperity of the island. For this purpose he 
suggested the sum of $60,000,000, not only for actual 
pay but also for compensation for the losses which the 
officers and men had suffered during the war. He was 
inclined to keep his men under arms until the United 
States should relinquish control of Cuba to the Cubans, 
or should fix a date for so doing; and toward the end of 
January, 1899, he mustered all his forces in the Province 
of Havana, and made his staff headquarters in the former 
palace of the Captain-General. Meantime the Commis- 
sion of the Cuban National Assembly recommended that 
the men be granted furloughs, to enable them to go to 
work in response to the great demand for labor that was 
arising throughout the island. This course was pursued 
to a considerable extent. 

Ultimately the United States government granted the 
sum of $3,000,000 for the purpose of paying off the sol- 
diers. This was not a loan, to be repaid, but was an out- 
right gift, being the remainder of the sum of $50,000,000 
which had been voted to the President at the beginning 
of the war to use at his discretion. It was given on the 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA E37 


conditions that every recipient should prove his service 
in the army and should surrender a rifle. To this latter 
requirement, which meant the disarming of the Cubans, 
General Gomez strongly objected, but in the end he ac- 
quiesced and agreed to carry out the plan as soon as the 
money was at hand. Thereupon some other Cuban offi- 
cers disputed his right to commit the Cuban army to any 
such arrangement. They were dissatisfied with the small 
amount, and they insisted that only the Cuban Assembly 
had power to act upon the American offer. They added 
that they would refuse to obey the orders of General 
Gomez, and would look to the Assembly for justice. It 
should be added that these officers were not those who had 
been most active and efficient in the field. 

General Gomez ignored this mutinous demonstration, 
and proceeded with arrangements to receive and distribute 
the $3,000,000; whereupon the Assembly came together 
and on March 12 impeached General Gomez and re- 
moved him from office as Commander-in-Chief, the 
charge being that he had failed in his military duties and 
had disobeyed the orders of the Assembly. This scan- 
dalous performance was ignored by Gomez, and was con- 
demned by the great majority of the Cuban people. It 
was also ignored by the American authorities. General 
Brooke continued his negotiations with Gomez, and 
finally reached an agreement. ‘The terms were as fol- 
lows: Every Cuban soldier who had been in service 
since before July 17, 1898, and who was not in receipt of 
salary from any public office, upon delivery of his arms 
and equipments was to receive $75 in United States gold. 
The arms and equipments were to be surrendered to 
municipal authorities, and to be placed and kept in 
armories, under the charge of armorers appointed by 
General Gomez, as memorials of the War of Independ- 


138 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


ence. The Cuban Commissioners protested against and 
resisted this settlement, but finally yielded when they saw 
all the soldiers accepting it. They continued for some 
time, however, to manifest disaffection and distrust to- 
ward the United States, and to propagate doubt whether 
that country would ever fulfill its promise to make Cuba 
independent. Some agitators went so far as to try to pro- 
voke insurrections against the American administration. 
But all such things met with no encouragement from 
General Gomez or from any of the real leaders of the 
Cuban people, who expressed the fullest confidence in 
the good faith of the United States and did their utmost 
to lead the nation to take advantage of the unparalleled 
opportunity which had been placed before it. Day by 
day the magnitude of that opportunity became more ap- 
parent, as did the practical beneficence of the American 
administration. 


CHAPTER IX 


AMERICAN occupation of Cuba, formal and complete, 
did not begin, as we have seen, until January 1, 1899, 
when the ceremonial transfer of sovereignty was effected 
at Havana. But nearly six months before that epochal 
date actual occupation and administration was begun on 
an extensive scale and in a most auspicious manner. 
With singular appropriateness this was effected at that 
city which nearly four centuries before had been the first 
capital and metropolis of the island, and in that Province 
which had been the scene of the first Spanish settlements 
in Cuba and which had been more perhaps than all the 
rest of the island the scene and the base of operations of 
the revolution for independence. 

The surrender of Santiago by General Toral on July 
17, 1898, made the American army master of that city 
and practically of the Province of Oriente. Having the 
power and authority of government, the Americans had 
necessarily to assume the full responsibility of it; and this 
was promptly done. Even in advance of the date named, 
on July 13, the day after negotiations for the capitulation 
began, in anticipation of what was to occur President 
McKinley decreed that, pending further orders, existing 
Spanish laws should be maintained in the occupied terri- 
tory. As soon as the protocol was signed on August 12, 
General Henry W. Lawton was appointed Military Gov- 
ernor of the Province of Oriente and commander in chief 
of the American forces. This was an honor due to that 


gallant officer, because of his leadership in the act of in- 
139 


140 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


vasion and conquest. But Lawton was a soldier rather 
than an administrator, and his services were indispensa- 
ble in the field. Accordingly, after brief but most honor- 
able occupancy of the governorship, he was succeeded on 
September 24 by a man who combined the qualities of 
soldier and administrator in a uniquely successful and 
triumphant degree, and whose advent in Cuba was auspi- 
cious of inestimable advantage to that country and to its 
relations with the United States and with the world. In- 
deed, though the fact was unrecognized at the time, it is 
not too much to say that Leonard Wood bore in his hand 
and mind and heart the destinies of Cuba. There might, 
it is true, have been found some other man who as a sol- 
dier would have pacified the island and would have held 
it firmly in the grasp of peace. There might have been 
found a sanitarian and physician who would free the is- 
land of pestilence. There were financiers who might 
have placed its fiscal interests upon a sound basis. There 
were jurists who could have revised its laws. There were 
statesmen who could have supervised and directed its 
general governmental affairs, both domestic and foreign. 
But there was need that all these qualities should be com- 
bined in and all these activities should be performed by 
one man. 

Leonard Wood was at this time still a young man, 
scarcely thirty-eight years of age. Born at Winchester, 
New Hampshire, the son of an eminent physician and a 
descendant of a Mayflower Pilgrim, he had in boyhood 
engaged in seafaring pursuits, and then had been thor- 
oughly trained for the medical profession at Harvard 
University. Obeying the promptings of patriotism, per- 
haps with some unrecognized pre-intimation of the vast 
services which he was destined to render to his country 
and to the world, he turned away from prospects of pro- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 141 


fessional preferment and profit to undertake the arduous 
and often thankless tasks of an army surgeon. He was 
appointed to that duty from the state of Massachusetts 
on January 5, 1886, as an Assistant Surgeon, and five 
years later was promoted to the rank of Captain. The 
nominal rank is, however, a slight indication of the merit 
of his services, for in the very first year of his army life 
he was credited with “distinguished conduct in campaign 
against Apache Indians while serving as medical and 
line officer of Captain Lawton’s expedition”; for which 
he was later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

At the beginning of American intervention in the Cuban 
War of Independence, Theodore Roosevelt resigned the 
office of ‘Assistant Secretary of the Navy, which he had 
filled with distinction and to the great profit of the coun- 
try, in order to organize from among the cowboys and 
frontiersmen of the West his famous regiment of ‘Rough 
Riders.” But he would not himself accept the supreme 
command of it. His unerring judgment of men led him 
to select Leonard Wood for the Colonelcy, under whom 
he was himself glad to serve as Lieutenant-Colonel. So 
it was that Wood first went to Cuba, as Colonel of the 
First Regiment of United States Cavalry Volunteers. 
There soon followed the achievements at Guasimas and 
at San Juan Hill, to which reference has already been 
made, in recognition of his services in which on July 8, 
1898, he was promoted to be Brigadier General, and on 
December 7 following to be Major General of Volunteers. 
It may be added that he was promoted to these same ranks 
in the regular army respectively on February 4, 1901 
and August 8, 1903. 

With these antecedents, on September 24 he entered 
upon the task of governing Santiago and the Province of 
Oriente. It was a position of unique responsibility and 


142 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


power. The President’s order made it incumbent upon 
him to administer the existing municipal laws so far as 
in his own judgment they were properly applicable to the 
new state of affairs. That was all. Otherwise he was 
thrown absolutely upon his own resources, with no treaty 
obligations or government promises to bind him. He 
was simply a “benevolent despot,” intent upon tranquil- 
lizing and rehabilitating that vast eastern province of 
Cuba by methods of his own devising. It was a region 
at once the most unruly and the most impoverished in 
Cuba, and it had for its capital a plague-smitten city. 
For six months he labored there, and in that short period 
he so far advanced the work of reconstruction that there- 
after Oriente served as an example and a model for all the 
other provinces of Cuba. Sympathetic, alert, untiring, 
frank, without vanity or ostentation, resolute, diplomatic, 
and always supremely just, General Wood’s personality 
stood to the people of Cuba for qualities seldom if ever 
before associated with the occupant of the governor’s pal- 
ace, while his energy in fighting disease, relieving dis- 
tress, reviving industry and maintaining order revealed to 
them as the Spanish régime never had done the benefi- 
cence of enlightened government. It would be impossible 
to estimate too highly the value of his services during 
those few months at Santiago, in commending to Cubans 
the benevolent purposes and attitude of the Americans 
toward them and in disclosing to them the vast material 
and moral benefits which would accrue to them through 
self-government wisely administered. 

He began his work at Santiago in gruesome circum- 
stances. An epidemic of smallpox and yellow fever was 
raging, and clouds of smoke hung over the city from the 
funeral pyres where were being burned many of the bodies 
for which burial was impossible. ‘The city was reeking 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 143 


with filth. Half the people were threatened with starva- 
tion. Lawlessness and complaints of grievances were 
rife. He had to be at once sanitarian, steward and judge. 
He labored heroically at all three tasks, and performed 
them so well that in a few weeks Santiago seemed like a 
new city. Of course there was much to do in other places 
in the province. In Holguin there were three thousand 
cases of smallpox, of which he treated 1,200 in hospitals. 
He sent thither as nurses 600 thoroughly vaccinated im- 
munes, not one of whom contracted the disease. Hun- 
dreds of infected buildings, of flimsy construction, were 
burned, while all others were thoroughly disinfected, and 
the epidemic was conquered. 

Early the next year General Wood sought a well earned 
rest in a brief visit to his former home in Boston, leaving, 
as he thought, affairs in Santiago in a securely satisfac- 
tory condition. But he was compelled to hasten back in 
July, 1899, to deal with another outbreak of disease. On 
his arrival he found both the city and his own army camp 
in the grip of malignant yellow fever. It was a time 
for heroic action, and that was what he performed. Ina 
day he removed his troops to healthful places on the ad- 
jacent hills, and then subjected the city to such a cleansing 
and scientific sanitation as neither it nor any other Cuban 
city had ever known. The island and the world looked 
on with interest, to see if thus he could cope with and 
suppress the epidemic. 

He succeeded. Not yet had the theory of Dr. Carlos 
J. Finlay, that mosquitoes were the sole propagators of 
the disease, been practically tested and applied, though 
it had been propounded by that eminent Cuban physician 
many years before. That immortal achievement was 
postponed for Messrs. Reed, Carroll, Agramonte and 
Lazear to effect, under General Wood’s subsequent ad- 


144 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


ministration at Havana. But even without it, by means 
of strenuous sanitation, the epidemic of July, 1899, was 
conquered, and Santiago was made clean and sound. 
Another achievement of General Wood’s at Santiago 
in the latter part of 1898 proved highly successful and 
was soon afterward extended to the other provinces of the 
island. This was the organization of the Rural Guards, 
a force which became invaluable for the policing of the 
rural portions of the island; just as Pennsylvania and 
some others of the United States are cared for by State 
Police. General Wood selected for this service officers 
and soldiers of the Cuban Army in the War of Independ- 
ence who were recommended for their good character and 
efficiency. By the end of the year 1898 he had about 300 
of these troopers patrolling the roads of Oriente, in the 
districts where such guardianship was most needed, with 
admirable results. The value of this service was ob- 
served and appreciated by the officers of the other proy- 
inces, and at the beginning of 1899 the system was intro- 
duced into all the provinces excepting Matanzas, where 
the same purpose was served by a mounted police force 
maintained by the larger municipalities. In the city of 
Havana the Military Governor, General Ludlow, held a 
conference with General Mario G. Menocal, of the Cuban 
Army, who had been invited to become Chief of Police 
in that city under the American administration, and with 
him worked out the details of the organization of Rural 
Guards in the suburbs of the capital and the rural por- 
tions of Havana Province. ‘They formed a force of 350 
men for service there, and thus quickly made all that 
region, even in the more or less disturbed period imme- 
diately following the war, noteworthy for its security and 
orderliness. When at the end of the American occupa- 
tion the Rural Guards were transferred to the Cuban 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 145 


Government, they comprised 15 bodies, numbering 1,605 
officers and men, stationed at 247 different posts. 

Meantime American occupation and administration 
were established throughout the island. Immediately 
upon the transfer of sovereignty on January 1, 1899, 
John R. Brooke, Major General commanding the Divi- 
sion of Cuba, and Military Governor, issued a proclama- 
tion to the people of the island. He told them that he 
came as the representative of the President, to give pro- 
tection to the people and security to persons and property, 
to restore confidence, to build up waste plantations, to re- 
sume commercial traffic, and to afford full protection in 
the exercise of all civil and religious rights. To the at- 
tainment of those ends, all the efforts of the United States 
would be directed, in the interest and for the benefit of 
all the people of Cuba. The legal codes of the Spanish 
sovereignty were to be retained in force, with such changes 
and modifications as might from time to time be found 
necessary in the interest of good government. The peo- 
ple of Cuba, without regard to previous affiliations, were 
invited and urged to cooperate in these objects by the 
exercise of moderation, conciliation and good-will toward 
one another. 

The island was divided for administrative purposes 
into seven departments, corresponding with the provinces 
and with the city of Havana forming the seventh. The 
commanders of these departments, under General Brooke, 
were: Havana City, Gen. William Ludlow; Havana 
Province, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee; Pinar del Rio, Gen. George 
W. Davis; Matanzas, Gen. James H. Wilson; Santa 
Clara, Gen. John C. Bates; Camaguey, Gen. L. H. Car- 
penter; Oriente, Gen. Leonard Wood. A civil govern- 
ment was organized on January 12, by the appointment 
of the following Cubans as Ministers of State: Secre- 


146 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


tary of the Department of State and Government, Do-- 


mingo Mendez Capote; Secretary of Finance, Pablo 
Desvernine; Secretary of Justice and Public Instruction, 
Jose Antonio Gonzalez Lanuza; Secretary of Agriculture, 
Commerce, Industries and Public Works, Adolfo Saenz 
Yanez. Later i in the spring of that year the provinces of 

Havana and Pinar del Rio 
were united in one depart- 
ment, as were Matanzas and 
Santa Clara, and Camaguey 
and Oriente. 

The problems which con- 
fronted the American mili- 
tary administrators and their 
Cuban colleagues of the civil 
government were manifold 

FAR WAS and grave. There was the 
work of sanitation, which was undertaken on lines simi- 
lar to those which General Wood had pursued in Santi- 
ago. ‘The city of Havana had the advantage of the serv- 
ices of General Ludlow, an expert engineer and sani- 
tarian. ‘Then there was the work of feeding a starving 
population. So vast had been the ravages of war, so 
great had been the destruction of resources, that one of 
the most fertile and productive countries in the world 
was unable for a time to provide food for its own in- 
habitants, although their numbers had been diminished 


GONZALEZ LANUZA 


A distinguished jurist, penologist, and man of letters, Gonzalez Lanuza, 
was born in Havana on July 17, 1865. He rose to eminence at the bar and 
on the bench, became professor of penal law in the University of Havana, 
and was the author of several important works on jurisprudence. He was 
an agent of the revolution in Havana in 1895, and Secretary of the Cuban 
Delegation in New York. During General Brooke’s Governorship he was 
Secretary of Justice and Public Instruction, and during President Menocal’s 
first term was Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a delegate 
to the Pan-American Congress at Rio de Janeiro in 1906. 


Se 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 147 


by one-fourth by the horrors of war. In these circum- 
stances the American government was compelled to es- 
tablish a system of food distribution, on very liberal lines. 
In Havana alone more than 20,000 persons were de- 
pendent upon it to save them from actual starvation. So 
well was the system administered, however, and so vigor- 
ously did the Cubans themselves apply themselves to self- 
help that within five months it was found possible to 
abolish the general system of food supply, and to restrict 
such work to such cases of special need as are liable to 
occur in any community. 

In thus redeeming the island from threatened if not 
actual famine, the American government undoubtedly 
did much, but the Cuban people themselves did far more. 
Self-help and mutual aid were the order of the day. All 
who could do so hastened to secure employment, either 
upon their own property or on the land or in the estab- 
lishments of others. Planters whose fields had been ray- 
aged and whose buildings had been destroyed borrowed 
money wherever they could, when necessary, for rehabili- 
tation. If they could not raise money to pay their em- 
ployes, they pledged them an interest in the proceeds of 
the coming harvest. The small farmers, who had lost 
all their implements and had no money to buy others to 
replace them, worked almost without tools, or borrowed 
and loaned among themselves so that a single plow would 
serve for half a dozen, and even hoes and spades were 
similarly passed from garden to garden. In the absence 
of horses and mules, plows were actually drawn by teams 
of four or six men, in such cases doing, perhaps, little 
more than to scratch the surface of the soil, though even 
this was sufficient to enable the planting of seed. 

Reference has been made to the borrowing of money by 
the planters for the rehabilitation of their estates. This 


148 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


was no easy task, because of the extent to which they 
were already overburdened with debts. Nearly all the 
land in Cuba was mortgaged, for a large percentage of 
its value. The census which was taken by the American 
authorities in 1899 showed a total real estate valuation 
in the entire island of only $323,641,895. These amaz- 
ingly low figures were due, of course, to the depreciation 
of values through the ravages of war. But upon that 
valuation there was an aggregate mortgage indebtedness 
of no less than $247,915,494; or more than 76 per cent. 
Obviously, the borrowing capacity of Cuban real estate 
had been exhausted. During the war, with the impair- 
ment of industry which then prevailed, it was impossible 
for farmers to pay off their mortgages, and accordingly 
the Spanish government, in May, 1896, decreed that all 
mortgages then maturing should be extended for a year, 
during which time all legal steps for collection of them 
should be halted. In Oriente and Camaguey, however, 
the grace thus granted was for only a month. Successive 
extensions of the grace carried it to April, 1899, when the 
American administration was in control. A final exten- 
sion was then granted, to April, 1901. 

Still another problem, and one which proved peculiarly 
embarrassing, was that of local or municipal government. 
The island was divided into six provinces, thirty-one ju- 
dicial districts, and one hundred and thirty-two munici- 
palities, and these last named were each divided into 
sub-districts and these again into wards. ‘These all had 
their local officials and local systems of finance, and these 
latter were found by the Americans to be in serious con- 
fusion. It was necessary to reform them, but in the do- 
ing of this almost endless friction arose. Such matters 
so closely touched the Cuban people that they were natur- 
ally jealous and resentful of alien interference and dic- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 149 


tation. At the same time the Americans considered it 
necessary to supervise the reorganization of local govern- 
ment as a basis for satisfactory general government. 
Each side became more or less irritated against the other, 
with unfortunate results. 

An interesting personal factor at this time, whose in- 
fluence was on the whole helpful to the American govern- 
ment, was found in General Maximo Gomez. There is 
no question that he felt himself somewhat ill-treated by 
the Americans, as Calixto Garcia had felt at the sur- 
render of Santiago. During the first month of the 
American rule at the capital he held aloof, remaining at 
his home at Remedios. But in February he came to 
Havana and had such a reception as probably no other 
man in Cuban history had ever enjoyed. From Reme- 
dios to Havana he proceeded through an almost un- 
broken series of popular demonstrations of the most en- 
thusiastic kind, and at the capital he was greeted as a 
conquering hero and as the unrivalled idol of the people 
whose independence he had won. ‘The only discordant 
note came from a small body of politicians identified with 
that Assembly which both Gomez and the American goy- 
ernment had declined to recognize, and which Gomez had 
strongly antagonized in the matter of paying off and de- 
mobilizing the Cuban army. But that opposition to him 
did not lessen the affection and reverence with which the 
great mass of the Cuban people regarded the grim and 
grey old champion of their wars. It is to be recorded, 
too, that while he was thus being received by the people, 
his own attitude toward them was no less significant. At 
every place through which he passed on his journey to 
Havana, and at every gathering at which he was enter- 
tained in that city, he spoke to the people, tersely and 
vigorously, as became a soldier; exhorting them to forget 


150 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the differences of the past, even their righteous wrath 
against the Spaniards, and to unite and work together har- 
moniously and efficiently to complete in peace the great 
task for Cuba’s welfare which had so far been advanced 
in, War...) ; 

The result, at least for a time, was marvellous. Cuban 
and Spaniard, Revolutionist, Autonomist and Constitu- 
tionalist, for a time joined hands. At one of the chief 
public receptions given to Gomez in Havana, the flags of 
Cuba, of the United States, and of Spain were equally dis- 
played, and were all three greeted with applause. That 
spirit did not, it is true, always thereafter prevail. But 
it was of incalculable profit to Cuba to have it so strongly 
aroused and manifested at that crucial period in her his- 
tory. 

During the administration of General Brooke the 
police force of Havana was completely reorganized, with 
the assistance of John B. McCullagh, formerly Superin- 
tendent of Police in New York. This was done as 
promptly as possible after the installation of American 
rule, and by the beginning of March, 1899, the peace and 
security of the Cuban capital were safeguarded by an 
admirable uniformed force of about a thousand men. 
Under the command of General Mario G. Menocal as 
Chief this body of men rendered Havana as efficient 
service, probably, as that in any American city of similar 
size. Police work in Havana, it should be understood, 
differs considerably from that in cities of the United 
States, for the reason that drunkenness and its attendant 
disorder and petty brawls are substantially unknown in 
the Cuban metropolis, and therefore one of the most pro- 
lific causes of arrests in American cities is there non- 
existent. 

When the American administration took charge of 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 151 


Cuban affairs it found the insular treasury quite empty. 
The departing Spaniards had seen to that. But a care- 
ful, honest and thrifty management of finances soon pro- 
vided the island with a good working income. By the 
first of September, 1899, fully $10,000,000 had been 
received in revenue from different sources. Major E. F. 
Ladd of the United States army was made Treasurer and 
Disbursing Officer of the customs service, and a little later 
he was appointed Auditor and then Treasurer of the is- 
land. In those capacities he showed admirable efficiency 
and greatly ingratiated himself with the people; ranking 
as one of the most successful members of the American 
- governing staff. His administration was the more appre- 
ciated by Cubans because of the welcome reform of the 
taxation system which was at that time effected. The 
old Spanish tax system had been abominable, and that of 
the short-lived Autonomist régime of 1897—1898 changed 
it chiefly with the result of adding to the confusion. 
Early in 1899, therefore, radical reforms were under- 
taken. An order was issued on February 10 remitting 
all taxes due under the old Spanish law which had re- 
mained unpaid on January 1, with the exception of taxes 
on passengers and freight which had according to custom 
been collected and were held by the railroad companies. 
All taxes on the principal articles of food and fuel were 
abolished, as were also all municipal taxes on imports and 
exports. These taxes had formerly been very burden- 
some and were a source of much grievance and irritation, 
and their abolition was very gratifying to the Cuban 
people, who began to appreciate what it meant to have a 
government whose prime object was to serve them and 
not to plunder them. 

One tax was greatly increased, namely, the excise tax 
upon all alcoholic liquors, and this was made a part of 


152 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the revenue of the municipalities instead of the state, thus 
compensating the municipalities for the loss of the tax on 
merchandise. Despite the temperate habits of the Cuban 
people, the very general consumption of some form of 
alcoholic drink made this impost amount to a consider- 
able sum. 

A matter which urgently needed reform, but which 
unfortunately was reformed with more zeal than diplo- 
macy, caused much dissension in that first year of Ameri- 
can administration. That was the marriage law. Un- 
der Spanish government marriage was held to be exclu- 
sively a function, indeed, a sacrament, of the Roman 
Catholic church, and could not legally be performed by 
any other authority; though in later years there had been 
made a provision for the civil marriage of non-Catholics. 
But since to resort to the latter meant to incur a certain 
social reproach, few couples ever availed themselves of 
it. Of course loyal members of the church could not do 
so, the religious ceremony being imperative for them. 

With the departure of the Spanish government from 
the island a complete separation of church and state oc- 
curred, and it was held imperative to provide a new law 
of marriage. The old system had become odious, it may 
be explained, because of the large fees which many ec- 
clesiastics charged for performance of the ceremony, and 
because, on account of those fees, many couples among 
the poorer elements of the population, decided to dispense 
with the marriage ceremony altogether; a practice not 
conducive to social order, and frequently causing serious 
embarrassment and litigation over the inheritance of 
property. Unfortunately in trying to reform the system 
the new government went too far toward the opposite ex- 
treme. The author of the new law was Senor Jose An- 
tonio Gonzalez Lanuza, the Secretary of Justice, and it 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 153 


made civil marriage compulsory, though it permitted a 
supplementary religious ceremony at the pleasure of the 
parties. “Hereafter,” it said, “only civil marriages shall 
be legally valid.” It fixed the legal fee for marriages at 
one dollar. 

The intention of the law was doubtless good, and it 
might be argued that it should not have caused offence, 
since it did not interfere with religious marriage cere- 
monies. There is no doubt that it was very strongly 
favored by a large part of the Cuban nation. When 
it was proposed to repeal or to modify it materially the 
vast majority of municipal governments in the island, all 
of the judges of the Supreme Court, a majority of the 
judges of first instance, and half of the Provincial Goy- 
ernors, urged its retention unchanged. The clergy of 
the Roman Catholic church, however, opposed it vigor- 
ously and persistently, and it was finally deemed desir- 
able to modify it so as to make either civil or religious 
marriage valid. The objection to it had been, of course, 
that by invalidating religious marriages it cast a certain 
slur upon the church. It is interesting to recall, however, 
that the law in its objectionable form was the work of a 
Cuban jurist, while in its amended and acceptable form it 
was the work of an American and conformed with the law 
in the United States, where civil and religious marriage 
ceremonies are equally legal and valid. 

In order to protect the island against undue exploita- 
tion by American speculators and “promoters,” a law of 
the American Congress in February, 1899, forbade the 
granting of franchises or concessions of any kind during 
the period of American occupation and control. It was 
not pretended that there was no need of any such grants, 
but it was prudently contended that they should wait un- 
til the Cubans themselves had full control of the insular 


154 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


government. ‘The wisdom of this was apparent, and the 
law was generally approved, even by those who most 
clearly saw the desirability of developing the resources 
and industries of the island by the building of railroads, 
tramways, telegraph lines, etc. It was better for these 
to wait for a year or two than to incur the suspicion that 
an American administration had granted Cuban fran- 
chises to American promoters on terms which a Cuban 
government would not have approved. 

A most important enterprise during the Brooke ad- 
ministration was the taking of a thorough census of the 
island. This was ordered by President McKinley on 
August 17, 1899, and was taken early in the ensuing fall. 
The island was divided into 1,607 enumeration districts, 
and the work of canvassing was given chiefly to Cubans. 
Among the canvassers were 142 women; the first women 
ever employed in government work in Cuba. ‘The cen- 
sus was not a mere enumeration, but comprised a multi- 
plicity of details concerning the age, nativity, citizenship, 
conjugal condition, literacy, etc., of the people, and also 
concerning agriculture and the other occupations in which 
they were engaged. The populations of the provinces 
were as follows, compared with the figures of the census 
of 1887: 


Provinces 1899 1887 
Pinar) dell: Raotene tac st atalniore el atciele 173,082 225,891 
favanial Ooo cee ewe cere 424,811 451,928 
IMiatanzasy tue Wee neaeisverate leone ace 202,462 259,578 
Santai'(Claral he cicteraebeeateecte rts 356,537 354,122 
Gama Pueyiioe si. cierislalacleeeekdietlerte ts 88,237 67,789 
Oriente) (sess ee eas dove 327,716 272,379 

TBotals: (iki Siercve\ersemnereveraeiee 1,572,845 1,631,687 


These figures are significant. ‘There should, of course, 
have been a considerable increase in population in those 
twelve years. Instead, there was a considerable de- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 155 


crease. ‘The entire number of normal increase, plus the 
58,842 actual decrease, may be taken as representing the 
loss through the war. It will also be observed that the 
loss of population was in the three western provinces, 
where the Spanish most held sway during the war, and 
that there was no loss but a considerable increase in the 
three eastern provinces, which were largely controlled 
by the Cubans. The population by sexes and race was 
as follows: 


LATER CN A aa Meee Ded USL 815,205 
GT BET ea CO Nee ch 757,592 
Native white 2... ae 910,299 
orerem WAI) s/o. wise ns) 3 142,098 
ENERO A ee sedge ue sles! ave 234,738 
1) [P06 (ER ae ae 270,805 
MOIIMESe eer lees 14,857 


CIELO HEANOR Ae Mea aed 1,296,367 
ORM OURS) SPIE: ane PEAR 20,478 
Im suspense .). 0 fcc es 175,811 
Other aliene: 0s Ar 79,525 
ROO 8) eee aie ae 616 


The total number of illegitimate children, of all ages, 
was 185,030; a discreditably high number, attributed 
largely to the former expensive marriage system. The 
statistics of education were distressing. ‘The number of 
children under ten years of age who were attending or 
had attended school was only 40,559, and the number 
who had not attended was 316,428. The number of 
persons ten years old and over who could read and write 


156 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


was only 443,670; those who could neither read nor 
write were 690,565—an appalling proportion of illiter- 
acy, reflecting most discreditably upon the Spanish goy- 
ernment of the island. The number of persons of “su- 
perior education” in the whole island was only 19,158. 
Nor were the statistics of industry much more satis- 
factory. ‘The following were the totals for the island: 


Agriculture, fisheries and mining ... 299,197 


Trade and transportation ......... 79,427 
Manufactures and mechanics ...... 93,074 
Professionaly ican cea 8,736 
Domestic and,personal|, }....). 4) 141,936 
No ‘gainful occupation: 0). \\...4ae 950,467 


Another supremely important measure which was 
adopted during the closing weeks of General Brooke’s ad- 
ministration, though its complete working out was re- 
served for his successor, was suggested by some of the 
census figures which we have just quoted. It was real- 
ized that the need of education was of all Cuban popular 
needs the most urgent. Accordingly on November 2, 
1899, General Brooke ordered the organization of a new 
bureau in the Department of Justice and Public Instruc- 
tion, at the head of which should be a Superintendent of 
Schools. ‘The first incumbent of that office was Alexis 
FE. Frye, who drafted another order, promulgated by 
General Brooke on December 6 and practically consti- 
tuting a new school law for Cuba. It provided for the 
formation of Boards of Education and the opening of 
primary and grammar schools in all communities by 
December 11, 1899, or as soon thereafter as possible. 
That was the beginning of the popular education of the 
Cuban people. 

After these things, General Brooke was on December 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 157 


20 relieved of his command in Cuba. He issued a brief 
farewell proclamation to the people, calling attention to 
the progress which had been made in good government, 
and toward complete self-government and independence; 
every word of which was amply justified by facts. He 
was a soldier rather than an administrator, and he was 
nearing the age of retirement from active service. His 
administration had been beset with difficulties; it had 
made some mistakes, and it had done much good work. 
He was charged by some with having entrusted the pow- 
ers of government too largely to his Cuban Secretaries; 
while others commended him for that very circumstance. 
His inclination was toward a bureaucracy, but it was a 
Cuban and not an alien bureaucracy. It cannot be de- 
nied that he laid much of the foundation of subsequent 
achievements and of successful Cuban government. It 
was under his governorship that General Ludlow cleansed 
the city of Havana, that the Customs service and the 
treasury were reorganized, and that provision was made 
for a comprehensive system of public schools. 


CHAPTER X 


GENERAL BROOKE was succeeded by General Leonard 
Wood. He had also in a measure been preceded by him. 
General Wood had at Santiago been the real pioneer in 
American administration in Cuba. He laid the first 
foundations there. General Brooke at Havana enlarged 
upon those foundations. ‘Then came General Wood to 
Havana to complete the structure. It was with the fame 
and prestige of his great victory over pestilence at Santi- 
ago, and of all his other achievements in Oriente, that 
he came to Havana on December 20, 1899, to be Military 
Governor of all Cuba. He was received not alone with 
the fullest measure of formal ceremony and official salu- 
tation, from both Cubans and Americans, but also with 
such an outpouring of popular welcome as few men have 
received anywhere and as nobody save perhaps Maximo 
Gomez had ever received at Havana. The attitude and 
sentiment of the people toward him were well expressed 
by an editorial writer in the Havana journal La Lucha, 
who said: 

“General Wood has shown great capacity for govern- 
ment and management while in command of the eastern 
end of the island. In that mountainous and rugged dis- 
trict, where passions and impulsive characters predomi- 
nate, in that country where a strong rebellious spirit has 
been agitated for a long time, General Wood knew how 
to calm that spirit, how to establish moral peace and to 
cheer the hearts of all. He has been seen to practise a 
policy of harmony and ample liberty. We saw him, first 

158 


CHAPTER X 


: ‘E was succeeded by- General Leaner 
:1so in a measure been preceded by him. 

Wood had at Santiago been the real pignéeram 
ad stration in C uba. He laid the first 


indations there. General Brooke at Havana enlarged 
pon those fond a poeneral Wood to - 
me a was with the fame 
“sy 0. ee Statesman, adminis las 

tune ey et Wood to render er eerie 
tions. Born at Winchester, New Hampshire, ‘on Oct 
--and educated in medicine at Harvard University, he 
_@,surgeon and then an officer of the United State 
_ brilliant, career in Indian fighting in the So 
‘Cuba in 1898 as colonel of the cavalry regimen 
and. did notable work’ in the battles around Santiag 
‘Military Governor of Santiago, and Oriente, and late 
Governor of Cuba, in which places he trans: ed 
economic and political conditions of the island, 2 
its career of independent ‘self-government. Since hen 
served the United: States ba atin meses in the Phi 
and as the. foremnat aioe er of the army. 


his benefactions to the nation ae his 
tion and awakening in preparation for ek re saw to be America’s. 
inevitable Sips in sicher aoe Wan pacity for 


anagement while in command of the easterm 

& Ty thal mountal s and rugged dis : 
ns and imp fitee: characters predomi- 
rv where a strong rebelhous spirit has 

ime, General Weod knew how. 
irit. how to establisi moral peace and to: 
is oF af] He has been seen to practise a 
soy and ample liberty. ° We save iiiganae 


+ 
3 
x 


4 af 
: } 
if : oe ; 
; ; 
7 : 
4 - 
ory c 1 
; t & - 
i 4 
; ‘ ; ; AF 
, i . 
N 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 159 


of all, promulgate the habeas corpus in the province he 
commanded, and he decreed that constitutional measure 
when the embers of the fire of domestic and international 
war were still smoking. In material things, General 
Wood cleansed the eastern cities and embellished them. 
. . . His government will prepare us for a broader life 
and give us the blessings of peace and liberty. As aman 
of clear mind and solid education, he will know how to 
study and to solve skilfully the economic and political 
problems that circumstances may introduce into the coun- 
try. As he is a man of energy, he will be able to with- 
stand every unhealthy influence. His policy will be 
eminently liberal, but at the same time it will be a guar- 
antee for all who labor and produce. He will not asso- 
ciate himself with agitators but with statesmen.” 

Such was the just estimate which Cuba placed upon her 
new Governor. Of his actual reception the same journal 
that we have quoted said: ‘Although promising noth- 
ing, he speaks volumes by his quiet democratic manner 
of taking charge of affairs. He has captivated every- 
one.”’ 

The new Governor was welcomed on his arrival at 
Havana by an extraordinary and quite unprecedented 
gathering of representative men from all parts of the 
island; such a gathering as Havana had never seen be- 
fore. He promptly entered into the fullest possible con- 
ference with them, to learn their views and to impart his 
own to them, and as a result of his intercourse with them 
he was able, on January 1, 1900, to gather about himself 
a noteworthy Cabinet, commanding in an exceptional 
measure the confidence of the Cuban people. It was 
thus composed: 

Secretary of State and Government, Diego Tamayo. 

Secretary of the Treasury, Jose Enrique Varona. 


160 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Secretary of Justice, Louis Estevez. 

Secretary of Public Works, Jose Ramon Villalon. 

Secretary of Education, Juan Bautista Barreiro. 

Secretary of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, 
Ruiz Rivera. 

The selection of these men commanded the cordial ap- 
proval of the Cuban people. Said La Lucha: “The 
new Cabinet contains men whose honest names are guar- 
antees that the moral and material interests of the coun- 
try are to be conserved.” To this La Patria added: 
“General Wood is obviously imbued with the best inten- 
tions. Although the council of Cubans convened by him 
is not an elected body, it does represent the wishes of the 
Cuban people.” 

It will of course be observed that not one of General 
Brooke’s cabinet was retained by General Wood. All 
were new men. Moreover, he increased their number by 
two, making a separate department of Education instead 
of lumping it with Justice, and making another of Pub- 
lic Works, instead of leaving it grouped with Agriculture, 
Industry and Commerce. This latter change was signifi- 
cant of two things. One was the increasing amount of 
actual governmental work that was devolving upon the 
administration. ‘The other was the increased importance 
which, in General Wood’s mind, attached to Education 
and Public Works. He rightly conceived them to be 
the two prime needs of Cuba. The cabinet did not re- 
main as thus organized, however, very long. On May 1 
Ruiz Rivera resigned the Secretaryship of Agriculture, 
Industry and Commerce, and was succeeded by Perfecto 
Lacoste; and Louis Estevez resigned the portfolio of Jus- 
tice and was succeeded by Juan Bautista Barreiro, who in 
turn was succeeded in the Department of Education by 
Jose Enrique Varona, while the last named was succeeded 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 161 


as Secretary of the Treasury by Leopoldo Cancio. Fi- 
nally on August 11 Senor Barreiro retired altogether and 
was succeeded in the Department of Justice by Miguel 
Gener y Rincon. 

We have said that General Brooke was charged with 
letting his administration be controlled by his Secreta- 
ries. ‘There was an inclination in some quarters to charge 
General Wood with exactly the reverse. He was not 
autocratic nor domineering. But he was Governor. He 
was the actual as well as the nominal head of the goy- 
ernment. Realizing that he would be held personally 
responsible for everything that was done,—as he was,— 
he rightly determined to exercise his authority in every- 
thing that was done. Then, if he was blamed, he 
would not be blamed for the fault of somebody else. 

The significance which we have attributed to his 
Cabinet enlargement was promptly demonstrated. Of 
the three subjects to which he most devoted his attention, 
public education came first. He had deemed it worthy 
of a Cabinet Department all for itself. He at once set 
about organizing that department de novo. Mr. Frye 
had done good work as Superintendent of Schools; but 
he had also done much of dubious merit. He had organ- 
ized too many schools too rapidly, and with too little sys- 
tem. Perhaps that was partly the fault of the law, which 
bade him on December 6 to get them all going by Decem- 
ber 11, if possible. But then, he was responsible for the 
law. He opened hundreds of schools. But most of them 
were pretty poor affairs, with no proper text-books, no 
desks, no equipment and supplies; they were not graded 
nor classified, and they were conducted without proper 
system or order. 

Such schools General Wood regarded as of little value, 
and he took prompt measures, though at the cost of a 


162 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


somewhat acrimonious controversy with Mr. F rye, to 
improve the system under which they were being created. 
On January 24 he issued an order creating a Board of 
Superintendents of Schools, instead of leaving the work 
to one man, and he appointed as its members Mr. Frye, 
Esteban Borrero Echeverria, and Lincoln de Zayas. 
The Board continued to act under the law of December 6, 
but applied it in a somewhat different way, with impres- 
sive results. It opened a great many more schools than 

a Mr. Frye had done, and saw to it 
that they were better equipped than 
his had been. Within six months 
the number of schools was in- 
creased from 635 to 3,313. In- 
deed, on March 3 it was found 
necessary to put on brakes, by is- 
a suing an order that no more new 

yi’ schools should be opened for the 
BVELIO RODRIGUEZ LENDIAN present, That, year jmialemeem 
$4,000,000, or nearly a fourth of the total revenue of 
Cuba, was spent on public schools. 

In addition to primary and grammar schools, which 
were made universal, trade schools of various kinds were 
established. In the principal cities, especially in Ha- 
vana, there were free schools of stenography and type- 
writing. ‘These latter were designed partly to supply a 
competent and up-to-date clerical force to the various goy- 
ernment offices, and partly to promote modern business 
methods in private concerns. Of course they provided 

EVELIO RODRIGUEZ LENDIAN 


One of the foremost educators of Cuba, Dr. Evelio Rodriguez Lendian, 
was born at Guanabacoa in 1860, and was educated at the University of 
Havana, where he is Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of 
Science and Letters. He is also President of the Academy of History, and 
Director of the Athenaeum. He has written a number of books and has 
great repute as a public speaker. 


THE HISTORY OF- CUBA 163 


profitable occupation to a large number of persons who 
otherwise might have been out of employment. The cre- 
ation of the public schools also provided employment for 
several thousand persons, as teachers. ‘These were al- 
most entirely Cubans and, as in the United States, were 
very largely young women. Considering the paucity of 
numbers of those reported by the census as possessing 
“superior education” it was extraordinary that a suffi- 
cient staff of teachers could be obtained. Normal schools 
for the training of teachers in modern methods of educa- 
tion were established, and were largely attended by young 
Cubans eager to participate in the work of advancing the 
intellectual interests and indeed also the social and in- 
dustrial interests of their country. 

An admirable impetus, of inestimable value, was 
given to the work of Cuban education in 1900 when Har- 
vard University, General Wood’s alma mater, invited 
Cuban teachers to the number of a thousand to spend the 
summer at that institution, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 
where a great summer school in pedagogy and other sci- 
ences was conducted. Recognizing the immense value of 
such a visit from many points of view, the American ad- 
ministration in Cuba agreed to pay each teacher one 
month’s salary for the purpose of the excursion, and to 
provide transportation from their homes to Havana or 
other convenient ports, whence their further travel was 
provided for by the Quartermaster’s Department of the 
United States. On arriving at Cambridge they were re- 
ceived and entertained during their stay by a committee 
specially appointed by Harvard. They were thus en- 
abled to have without cost an extended and singularly in- 
teresting and enjoyable excursion, such as many of them 
had never had before, to receive stimulus, suggestion and 
instruction in the most approved methods of education 


164 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


and school management, and—perhaps most important 
of all—to come into direct touch with the people and in- 
stitutions of the great northern republic with which their 
own country had and was destined always to have the 
closest of relations. 

The school system of the island was strictly removed 
from politics, both local and general, and was taken from 
the control of the municipalities and placed directly and 
solely under that of the national overnment. Thus was 
assured a fine degree of uniformity in the quality and 
methods of teaching. Thus also the poorer districts, 
which could with difficulty have maintained any kind of 
schools at all, were enabled to have as good service as 
the richest communities. The salaries paid to teachers 
were good, comparing favorably with those paid in the 
United States. 

There was, it must be confessed, some criticism of this 
elaborate and expensive educational establishment. It 
was urged by some that approximately one-fourth was en- 
tirely too large a proportion of the national revenue to 
devote to this purpose, and that it would be to the greater 
benefit of the island to spend less money on schools and 
more on public works of various kinds. It was also 
pointed out that the average cost of educating each pupil 
in the Cuban schools was more than $26, while the aver- 
age cost in the whole United States was less than $23, 
and in the Southern States, with which it was assumed 
that Cuba was properly to be compared, it was less than 
$9. Of course there was involved in these criticisms a 
triple fallacy. One was the notion that public works were 
neglected or sacrificed for the schools. That, as we shall 
see, was not so; a comparably great system of such works 
proceeding pari passu with the development of the school 
system. Another was, that the cost was too high. Natu- 


16s == HISTORY OF CUBA 


nc WO, Rpeeemnent, and-—perhans a 
: ei Tye direct touch with theipeopie 
#0) ereat northern republic with wim 

| ind was destined always To: 


tem of the island was strictly re 

iocal and general, and<was cian 

mim ai the eRe 3 arid placed directh 

'y aider that of the national overnmentie 
echaoast o ane 2: legree of bee: iformih ee: the que 


e ching. lg 
Cr is atin posit providi 
but higher education, even of the best univers! 
without ‘cost to the children of her citi iT 
Havana, which is the crown of the whole ed 
i ea -was founded i in 1728, and fennel 


t of Santo D domsinga, But in 1 d 

Fcatitian of Cenche SnAGne Woke Sele 
aba —— Pian Militar) near El Pr 

Was UTped bs itrat apnres imately one-fourth Wa 


tly too large &. propx rtion of the national 
e to this purpose, and that it would be to ta > 
neneit of the island to spend less money-on nools’ 


| works. of various. Kinds; 4&4 
t that the average cost of educating a 
; was more than $26, white 
vhole United’ States was’ less thar 
, with which it Wages 
opetly to be compared, it was ine 
‘here was involved in these as if 
e was the notion that public wor, 
ast enorivced for the schools. -That, aga 
ae Tre empare bas - great system of such 
procevelime Gore dakew with the deve elopment of the 
iain iia , ; “# yat th e-cost was tao high. 


7 , vgn } Se ed 
+ ahan schools v 


wer ina 5 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 165 


rally the cost was much higher in the first year than it 
would be after the system was well established. It was 
in fact much lower than in those parts of the United 
States where the schools were efficient and the educational 
system was creditable. The third ania! was in think- 
ing that Cuba was to be com- 
pared with the Southern States, 
the backward condition of whose 
school systems had long been re- 
garded as a reproach and a dis- 
grace. In endowing Cuba with 
a school system it would have 
been indecent for the United 
States to take for the standard 
its own poorest and most dis- 
creditable systems. It was nec- anronto sancHEz DE BUSTA- 
essary that it should take rather ania 

the best that it had as an example to be emulated. It 
may be added that these criticisms were made chiefly 
by General Wood’s American critics, and by those who 
ignorantly and arrogantly regarded Cuba as an inferior 
country for which an inferior system was good enough. 
The Cubans themselves with practical unanimity gave to 
the work their hearty and grateful approval. 

There was other work to do for the children of Cuba 
beside that of the ordinary schools. The war had been 
disastrous to domesticity. ‘Thousands of homes had 
been entirely destroyed, the parents slain, the houses 
burned, the children left to wander as waifs. In that 


ANTONIO SANCHEZ DE BUSTAMENTE 


One of the most eminent jurists and orators of Cuba, Dr. Antonio 
Sanchez de Bustamente, was born on April 13, 1865, and was educated at 
the University of Havana. He is a Senator, President of the Cuban So- 
ciety of International Law; President of the National Academy of Arts and 
Letters; Dean of the Havana College of Lawyers, and Professor of Inter- 
national, Public and Private Law in the University of Havana. 


166 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


genial clime, amid that profusion of the fruits of nature, 
these orphans did not necessarily starve or perish. Many 
of them lived practically as wild creatures of the woods. 
Many of them also were cared for in some fashion by the 
families whose homes had not been destroyed, for it was 
not in the Cuban heart, even the most poverty-stricken, to 
turn a suppliant from the door. But it was not fitting 
that these children should be left as waifs and charges 
upon the people. Under General Brooke’s administra- 
tion an excellent Department of Charities was organized, 
which gathered up and cared for thousands of them, and 
this work was continued during General Wood’s adminis- 
tration. The children were partly placed in families 
which were willing to receive them, or in asylums and 
schools. Seeing that there was among them a certain 
proportion of defectives and delinquents, and that many 
were in need of useful training, correctional and indus- 
trial schools for both boys and girls were opened, and did 
admirable work. 

The second object of General Wood’s special interest 
was that of public works. Concerning that, two salient 
facts must be borne in mind. One is, that the prohibi- 
tion of franchises and concessions during the American 
occupation materially militated against the making of 
many improvements; although it was on the whole a 
desirable restriction. The other is that many of the most 
urgent public works during the first year or two were 
those connected with sanitation and the renovation of 
public buildings, prisons, etc. During the first year of 
the intervention, under General Brooke, heroic work was 
done by General Ludlow in removing from the streets of 
Havana the accumulated filth of years. But that was 
only a beginning. In the next two years the work had 
to be continued and extended to every city and town on 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 167 


theisland. Water supplies had to be provided, and sewer 
systems. Above all, there had to be an extensive, per- 
sistent and, in the very nature of the case expensive cam- 
paign against yellow fever and malaria, the two tradi- 
tional scourges of Cuba. To these works General Wood 


ALMENDARES RIVER, HAVANA 


addressed ‘himself with efficient energy, and to them he 
devoted an appropriate proportion of the public funds. 

We have seen that the total cost of the schools in 1900 
was more than $4,000,000. But as a considerable part 
of this was non-recurring expense for buildings, etc., the 
actual cost of maintenance was much less. The follow- 
ing figures show the apportionment of expenditures: 


168 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


For. Education, non-recurring...)..)/2eueee $ 337,460 
For Education, maintenance. .:..\25230eee 3,672,000 
Total for school system’... 3.2929 $4,009,460 
For Public Works construction ........... $1,786,700 
For, Sanitation 22222 02) 4c. 3,029,500 
Total for Public Works... . eee $4,816,200 


Despite the complaints of American critics that too 
much money was spent on schools in proportion to other 
things, therefore, it appears that much less was spent 
on them than on public works. Perhaps such complaints 
would have been less numerous and less bitter if General 
Wood had been willing or able to give profitable contracts 
and franchises to American speculators. 

Much attention was paid to port improvements, nat- 
urally, in order to facilitate and promote the commerce 
which was essential to the prosperity of the island. The 
lighthouse service was placed under the most competent 
charge of General Mario G. Menocal, who conducted 
it with approved efficiency until the needs of his per- 
sonal affairs compelled him to retire from public office. 
A thoroughly organized postal service was established 
throughout the island and was so well managed that by 
the end of the period of intervention it was within ten 
per cent. of being self supporting, or as near to self sup- 
porting as that of the United States had generally been. 
This was certainly a remarkable achievement in view of 
the fact that so large a proportion of Cubans were illit- 
erate and therefore unable to make use of postal facilities. 

For general purposes of public works the island was 
divided into six districts. At the head of each district 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 169 


was a Chief Superintendent of Public Works, with a 
staff of assistants. The principal undertakings, apart 
from sanitation, were the construction of roads and the 
building of bridges and culverts, and these were ju- 
diciously planned so as to unite the various districts of 


OLD TIME WATER MILL, HAVANA PROVINCE 


the island with improved highways, and to open up 
rich agricultural regions with transportation facilities. 
These undertakings involved General Wood in the 
disposition of an unpleasant controversy which had been 
left over from General Brooke’s administration, which 
in turn had received it from the old Spanish govern- 
ment. In 1894 the Spanish authorities of Havana de- 
cided to have that city largely repaved and re-sewered, 
and asked an American firm somewhat noted for its po- 
litical influence, that of Michael J. Dady & Co., of 
- Brooklyn, New York, to submit plans. A year later it 


170 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


accepted some of this firm’s proposals, payment for the 
work to be made in bonds of the City of Havana. But 
the oncoming of the war caused postponement of the 
project, and it was not until December, 1898, just before 
the Spanish evacuation, that the corporation of Havana 
finally accepted the proposals and authorized the issue 
of bonds. The American authorities, however, who 
were about to take over the control of the city, pro- 
tested against being thus saddled with a scheme of Span- 
ish making, and accordingly the last Spanish Governor, 
General Castellanos, very properly declined to approve 
and sign the ordinance; declaring that it and all similar 
projects, which would have to be executed under Ameri- 
can control, should await American approval. 

A few days later the transfer of sovereignty occurred, 
and General Ludlow, as Governor of Havana, decided 
to set aside the Dady proposals altogether and to proceed 
with the work himself. This was doubtless an economi- 
cal and logical course to pursue. But under the old 
Spanish law, which was still in force, Dady & Co. 
claimed to have certain rights in the matter. The mat- 
ter remained in suspense for the whole of General 
Brooke’s administration, with a succession of engineers 
from the United States making and remaking plans for 
the work and with Dady & Co.’s interests undecided. 
Apparently the United States government—for the whole 
matter was controlled by the Engineering Bureau of the 
War Department at Washington—was reluctant to chal- 
lenge Dady & Co. to a trial of their claims in court, and 
was unwilling to seek a compromise with them, but was 
seeking by interminable postponements, changes of plan 
and delays to tire them out and induce them voluntarily 
to withdraw. But that was something which that astute 
and resolute corporation showed no inclination to do. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 171 


Meanwhile very important public works were at a stand- 
still. 

This was an intolerable state of affairs, and General 
Wood in the spring of 1901 determined to end it after 
the manner of Alexander’s disposition of the Gordian 
knot. He paid Dady & Co. $250,000 in satisfaction of 
their claims, which was possibly less than the courts 
would have awarded them if the case had been carried 
before them, and then ordered bids to be solicited for 
the doing of the work. The only bid received was from 
Dady & Co., and the Washington authorities refused to 
sanction acceptance of it on the ground that it was too 
high. The plans were altered and new bids solicited, 
and the Havana Ayuntamiento voted to award the con- 
tract to the lowest bidders, McGivney & Rokeby. But 
before the contract was closed Dady & Co. on a plea of 
having misunderstood the plans offered a reduction of 
their bid below that of their competitors; whereupon the 
Ayuntamiento reconsidered its vote and ordered the con- 
tract to be made with Dady & Co. But the Washington 
authorities refused to sanction this change, apparently 
being averse to letting Dady & Co. have the job at any 
figure, and the result was that the whole matter remained 
at a deadlock until after the end of the American occupa- 
tion. 

From some points of view the greatest achievement of 
General Wood’s administration was that of the conquest 
of disease, and it was one in which he as a physician and 
man of science took peculiar interest. When he fought 
and temporarily overcame yellow fever at Santiago, there 
was no application of the immortal theory of Dr. Finlay, 
but it was supposed that the pestilence spontaneously 
arose from filth. The same was true of General Lud- 
low’s subsequent cleansing of Havana; he supposing that 


172 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


by the removal of filth the sources of infection would be 
removed. But when he observed that the dreaded dis-. 
ease occurred where there was no filth, General Wood 
concluded that it must have another source, and decided 
to give Dr. Finlay’s theory a practical test. In 1900 
therefore a medical commission was formed, composed of 
Drs. Walter Reed, U. S. A., James Carroll, Aristides 
Agramonte, and Jesse W. Lazear, who, with the heroic 
cooperation of soldiers of the United States army, who 
were willing to risk their lives in experiments for the wel- 
fare of humanity, undertook an elaborate series of dem- 
onstrations which were epochal in the history not alone 
of Cuba but also of the whole world. 

Reed took the initiative. He applied to General Wood 
for permission to undertake the work, including the con- 
ducting of experiments on persons who were not immune 
against the fever, which of course was a most perilous 
venture. He also asked for a considerable sum of money 
with which to reward volunteers who would thus submit 
themselves to deadly peril. General Wood did not hesi- 
tate for a moment. He granted the permission, appro- 
priated the money, and entered into the momentous enter- 
prise with helpful sympathy and untiring zeal. 

The scene of the drama—for it was one of the most 
dramatic and heroic performances in human history— 
was Camp Lazear, fittingly named for the brave man 
who was a martyr to the cause of health, a few miles from 
Quemados, in the outskirts of Havana. Before the work 
at the camp was begun, however, two experiments were 
made by members of the commission, who thus demon- 
strated their personal readiness to incur any peril which 
might confront the volunteers for whom they were calling. 
Dr. Carroll was first. He deliberately caused himself 
to be bitten by a mosquito which twelve days before had 


elt bar qioorlt teri Jo Bean t9T109. fs b4 
on rw oft boseld bas pe jeag babsstb 


Z © observed that the ‘dreaded Gis. 

br web ther tT rentral Wao abd 
id decided 
Th T9000. 
red, composed of 


CARLOS f.FINLAY, with the hep otc. 


Born at Camaguey on December 3, 1833, of English. parents, 
and dying on August 20, 1915, Dr. Carlos J. Finlay left a mame 
which greatly adorns the science of Cuba and which occ A 
conspicuous place on the roster of the benefactors of ht 
He was educated in France and at the Jefferson Sie torte s - 
Philadelphia, and rose to eminence in his profession. He first of 
all men propounded the theory that Stegomiya fasciata ‘mosquito 
was the active and sole agent in the communication.of yellow deer 
and personally, under the Governorship of Leonard Wood, dem- 
onstrated the correctness of that theory and thus freed Cuba’ from 
its most dreaded pestilence and blazed the way fora like-achieve- 
ment in all other lands. For this epochal service.to. the world 
many. foreign governments bestowed distinctions and decorations 
upon him. Though technically retaining the British izenship 
with which his father endowed him, he devoted his life ta Cuba and 
filled with high efficiency the place of chief of .the, Bureau, of 
Sanitation. mp 


oh H 


fous enters) 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 173 


gorged itself with the blood of a yellow fever patient. 
Note that he did this with the expectation, indeed with 
the hope, that he would thus be infected with one of the 
deadliest of diseases. He sought to prove not that there 
was no danger in a mosquito bite, but on the contrary 
that there was the greatest possible danger. And his 
anticipations were fully realized. In due time after the 
bite he was stricken with yellow fever in a particularly 
severe form; from which, however, he happily recov- 
ered. 

Dr. Lazear came next. At about the same time with 
Carroll he made a similar experiment upon himself. 
Apparently the insect by which he caused himself to be 
bitten had not itself been infected. At any rate Lazear 
did not develop the disease. At this he was disap- 
pointed, and he determined to expose himself again. Ac- 
cordingly he was thoroughly bitten by another mosquito, 
in the yellow fever ward of the hospital. He noted the 
fact and all its results most carefully, as though he had 
been experimenting upon some inanimate object. In 
due time the disease manifested itself in its most malig- 
nant form. Everything possible was of course done for 
him, but in vain. He died of the disease which he had 
voluntarily contracted for the sake of saving others from 
it; one of the world’s great martyrs to the cause not 
merely of science but of humanity. 

So Camp Lazear was founded and was named after 
this hero. There were erected two large frame build- 
ings, one for infected mosquitoes and one for infected 
clothing. The mosquito building was divided into two 
parts by a permanent wirecloth partition, impervious to 
even the smallest mosquito, but of course permitting free 
circulation of air. All the windows and doors were se- 
curely screened in like manner, so that it was impossible 


174 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


for mosquitoes to pass in or out. This building was 
ventilated in the most thorough manner. Three men 
entered it and lived there for a fortnight. One of them 
entered the compartment which was infested with fever- 
infected mosquitoes, and was bitten by them. The oth- 
ers remained in the other compartment which was free 
from mosquitoes but through which the same air cir- 
culated and in which all other conditions were identical 
with those in the insect room. The result was that the 
man who was bitten developed the fever, while the others, 
though fully as susceptible to it as he, showed no signs 
of it. Such was the convincing demonstration of the 
mosquito house. 

The clothing building was kept free from mosquitoes, 
but was well stocked with the clothing and bedding of 
yellow fever patients. There were the beds in which 
men had died of the fever, soiled with their vomit and 
other excreta. The room was purposely deprived of 
ventilation, so that its air should constantly be heavy 
with the reek of disease and death. Into that indescrib- 
ably loathsome place brave men entered, and there they 
lived for weeks, wearing the soiled clothing and sleep- 
ing in the soiled beds of those who had died of the pes- 
tilence. But not one of them contracted the fever. Not 
one sickened. All emerged from the noisome place at_ 
the end of the experiment in perfect health. Such was 
the convincing demonstration of the infected clothing 
house. 

One thing more remained. ‘There was one remote 
possibility that the men who had remained free from 
the fever, in the noninfected room of the mosquito house 
and in the infected clothing house, were in some unsus- 
pected way immune against the disease. To determine 
this, one of each of the companies permitted himself to 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 175 


be bitten by an infected mosquito, with the result that 
he promptly developed the disease. ‘That was the final, 
complete and crowning demonstration which made Camp 
Lazear forever famous in the annals of humanity. At 
a single stroke the pestilence which had been the haunt- 
ing horror of the tropics was potentially conquered. Dr. 
Reed proclaimed to the world that the specific agent in 
the causation of yellow fever was a germ or toxin in the 
blood of a patient during only the first three days of the 
attack, which must be transmitted by the bite of a mos- 
quito inflicted upon its victim at least twelve days after 
taking it from the blood of the first patient. In no other 
way was it possible to convey the infection. ‘The notion 
that it was conveyed through the air, in the breath of 
patients, in their soiled clothing or the discharges of 
their bodies, was baseless. 

That historic achievement was alone sufficient to make 
that first year of General Wood’s administration in Cuba 
forever gratefully famous. Of course the lesson thus 
learned was at once put into effect with all possible thor- 
oughness. War was declared upon the death-dealing 
mosquito. In February, 1901, the campaign was be- 
gun by Major William C. Gorgas, U. 8. A., the chief 
sanitary officer of Havana. Every case of yellow fever 
was immediately reported, and the patient was rigidly 
isolated during the three days in which his blood was 
infective. All the rooms of his house and the adjacent 
houses were closed to prevent the escape of possible in- 
fected mosquitoes, and were then thoroughly fumigated 
so as to destroy every insect within them. In this way 
the spread of the disease was prevented. At the same 
time measures were taken to exterminate the mosquitoes 
altogether, by depriving them of breeding places. It 
was ascertained that the insect required for propagation 


176 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


a certain amount of stagnant water, in which its eggs 
might be deposited and hatched. Steps were therefore ~ 
taken to drain or otherwise get rid of all pools, or to 
apply to them a film of oil which would prevent the 


vane 
72 YO Seor 7 oe 


STREET IN VEDADO, SUBURB OF HAVANA 


insects from using them, and to screen carefully all 
vessels and other receptacles in which water was neces- 
sarily kept. These were the same methods which Major 
—since Major General—Gorgas a few years later ap- 
plied with distinguished success for the elimination of 
yellow fever from the Isthmus of Panama and thus 
rendered possible the construction of the interoceanic 
canal. 

Begun in February, 1901, this work in Havana was 
so vigorously and skilfully prosecuted that before sum- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 177 


mer every case of yellow fever had disappeared from that 
city and its environs. During the summer a few cases 
occurred, but the last of them was disposed of early in 
September. That was the last case of yellow fever to 
originate in a city which for a century and a half had 
annually been scourged by that disease. Since that 
date the only cases that have been known there have been 
a few which were imported from less sanitary ports—at 
one time Havana had to establish a fever quarantine 
against United States ports! Thus the island which 
had long suffered reproach as the especial home of one 
of the deadliest of diseases, as a veritable plague-spot, 
which American life insurance companies forbade their 
policy holders to visit, became noted for its freedom from 
that scourge and for its general salubrity. 

A similar campaign was also conducted against an- 
other variety of mosquito which, by a like series of ex- 
periments, had been proved to be the propagating medium 
of so-called malarial fevers; with highly gratifying re- 
sults. 

Among the important reforms effected by General 
Wood was that of the entire system of law and justice. 
It began with the penal institutions. When the Ameri- 
cans assumed control, they found the old Spanish prison 
system still in existence. Most of the prisons were anti- 
quated, unsanitary and inhuman structures, to enter 
which was ominous for the body, the mind and the soul. 
There was no segregation of prisoners according to age 
or degree of criminality. Mere boys, sentenced for some 
slight misdemeanor, were herded in with adult felons of 
the most hardened and incorrigible type. Many had 
been confined for months, even years, awaiting trial. 
They had been arrested, locked up in default of bail, 
and then practically forgotten. Of these many were 


178 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


innocent of any wrong-doing; while some of those who 


were probably guilty were kept in confinement awaiting 
trial for a much longer term than they could have been 
sentenced for under the law if they had been tried and 
found guilty. 

This shocking state of affairs was vigorously attacked 
during the first year of the American occupation, and it 
was thoroughly reformed before that occupation ended. 
There was a prompt disposal of all untried cases. 
Where it was possible, the prisoners were at once brought 
to trial. But in many cases there was nobody to appear 
against them; perhaps through lapse of time all the wit- 
nesses were dead; and it was impossible to make even a 
show of prosecuting them. Such persons simply had to 
be set at liberty. The system of jurisprudence was so 
modified as to assure prompt trials thereafter. The 
management of the prisons was made to aim at the re- 
formation of the prisoners and not simply at their vin- 
dictive punishment. In some prisons schools were 
opened, to give the inmates instruction which would con- 
duce to their right living after their release. Of course 
the buildings were renovated as far as possible, so as 
to make them sanitary and as comfortable as prisoners 
have a right to expect their prisons to be. 

This led, under General Wood’s administration, to a 
general revision of the system of courts, court procedure 
and jurisprudence. In the first year of intervention, in- 
deed, General Ludlow established a Police Court in 
Havana. This was not authorized by Governor Brooke, 
and was regarded as of doubtful legality. Nevertheless 
it remained in operation and undoubtedly served a good 
purpose in disposing promptly of most of the petty cases 
of arrest for misdemeanor. So valuable was it that 
General Wood, on becoming Governor, determined to 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 179 


place its legal status on the surest foundation possible, 
by issuing an official order for its creation and recogni- 
tion. In this he did not himself escape criticism, not 
from Cubans but from Americans. ‘The same people, or 
the same kind of people, who had blamed him for paying 
so much attention to Cuban education now declared that 
he had no business to meddle in any way with the judi- 
cial system of Cuba. That was not what America had 
intervened for. To such objections little attention was 
paid. General Wood rightly regarded it to be his busi- 
ness to do anything in any department of government 
that would promote the ends of justice and good govern- 
ment and the welfare of the Cuban nation. 

Police courts were therefore established not only in 
Havana but also in the other cities. "The Department of 
Justice was moved to examine into the conduct of all the 
courts. When judges were found to be unjust, corrupt, 
incompetent, or otherwise unfit to serve, they were re- 
moved. Competent clerks were appointed, and they and 
all other court employes were put on fair salaries, the 
fee system which formerly prevailed and which was so 
susceptible of abuse, being abolished. Competent and 
trustworthy lawyers were employed at state expense to 
serve as counsel for those who were too poor to hire 
them. 

It was under General Wood, in his first year of ad- 
ministration and the second year of American interven- 
tion, that Cuban civil government was elaborated, that 
an election system was devised and put into effect, and 
that political parties had their rise. The Civil Gover- 
nors of the Provinces were now all Cubans: Of Pinar 
del Rio, Dr. J. M. Quilez; of Havana, General Emilio 
Nunez; of Matanzas, General Pedro Betancourt; of 
Santa Clara, General Jose Miguel Gomez; of Camaguey, 


180 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


General R. Lopez Recio; of Oriente, General Demetrio 
Castillo. It was General Wood’s wise and just policy 
to fill Cuban offices with Cubans to the fullest possible 
extent. 

Therefore it was determined in the spring of 1900 
to hold an election for municipal officers throughout the 
island. An order was issued on April 18, appointing 
the election for June 16, for officers to be installed on 
July 1 for a term of one year. ‘The officers to be chosen 
were Mayors, or Alcaldes; members of City Councils or 
Ayuntamientos; municipal treasurers and judges, and 
judges of the police courts. 

The preparations for the election were made and a 
new electoral law was drafted by a commission of fifteen 
members, appointed by General Wood. Of the fifteen, 
thirteen were Cubans and two were Americans. The 
Cubans were representative of the various political par- 
ties into which the people of the island were beginning 
to divide themselves. It cannot be said that the meet- 
ings and deliberations of the commission were particu- 
larly harmonious. In the end two reports were sub- 
mitted to the Governor, of which he selected for adop- 
tion that presented by the minority. It comprised the 
new elections law, which he promulgated on April 18 
in the proclamation calling for the election. This law 
provided that a voter must be a male Cuban, native of 
Cuba or born of Cuban parents while they were tem- 
porarily visiting abroad, or a Spaniard included within 
the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, who had not 
elected to retain his Spanish allegiance; he must be 
twenty-one years old, and must have lived in his munici- 
pality for at least thirty days immediately preceding reg- 
istration; and he must be able to read and write; or own 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 181 


property worth $250 in American gold; or have served 
in the Cuban army prior to July 18, 1898, and have 
been honorably discharged therefrom. The ten con- 
secutive days from May 6 to May 16 were appointed as 
days of registration. 

The total number of voters registered was 150,648, 
which was a little more than fifty per cent. of the total 
number of men of voting age, which had been shown by 
the census of 1899 to be 297,765. However, there were 
some thousands of adult males in the island who had 
elected to retain their allegiance to Spain, and therefore 
could not vote, so that the number registered was con- 
siderably more than one half of the possible voters. At 
the election on June 16 the total vote cast was 110,816. 
There were some protests and complaints of fraud and 
illegal voting, and it is not improbable that there were 
some such abuses; as there have been known to be in 
other lands, even in the United States of America. On 
the whole the elections were probably reasonably fair 
and honest; they were peacefully and quietly conducted; 
and they gave much encouragement to the expectation 
that the people of Cuba would prove themselves worthy 
of the opportunity of self-government which was being 
placed before them. 

At this election there were three parties. The Union 
Democratic was composed of the more conservative ele- 
ment, including many of the old Autonomist party, and 
it was largely inclined toward annexation to the United 
States, or toward a permanent and efficient protector- 
ate by that country. Its numbers were few, and it took 
little part in the election. The Nationals and the Re- 
publicans ranged from liberal to radical, and between 
the two in principle there was no perceptible difference. 


182 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


These parties did not long survive, but were transformed 
and merged into the Conservative and Liberal parties of 
later years. 

Political parties in Cuba had their origin about the 
time of American:intervention in the war. That was 
an assurance that Cuba was to have her independence 
and become self-governing, and that made it seem worth 
while to form into parties. The full development did 
not come, however, until it was seen that the United 
States intended to keep its word by leaving the govern- 
ment and control of Cuba to the people of the island, 
and that conviction did not come to the general Cuban 
mind until some time after the United States en- 
tered the war. It first began to arise in considerable 
strength when the United States government forbade the 
granting of any franchises or concessions during the 
American occupation. ‘That certainly looked as though 
the Americans expected to get out of the island at an 
early date. As the administration of General Wood went 
on, constantly increasing the participation of Cubans in 
the government, the confidence in American good faith 
increased, and of course the organization of parties be- 
came more complete. 

There were then, however, as there are now, no such 
differences between the parties on matters of political 
economy or administrative and legislative policy, as exist 
in other lands. They are simply the “Ins” and the 
“Outs.” One party is in office and wants to stay in. 
The other is out and wants to get in. In their methods, 
however, the two differ widely. The Conservatives have 
been consistently in favor of constitutional and lawful 
measures, the maintenance of peace and the safeguard- 
ing of life and property. They have always been willing 
to accept and abide by the result of an election, even 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 183 


though it were against them. The Liberals, on the other 
hand, as we shall more convincingly see in the course 
of this narrative, have been in favor of practically any 
means which would enable them to gain control of af- 
fairs. ‘They have on several occasions not hesitated to 
involve the island in revolution, provided that they 
would be able to profit from it by gaining office. 

In this first election for municipal officers there was 
little partisan rivalry, and indeed that did not rise to 
any great pitch until the end of the first intervention 
and the establishment of a purely Cuban government. 
The chief partisanship was really personal. Each im- 
portant military or political leader had his own follow- 
ing. Such rivalries were not yet, however, acrimonious 
or sufficient to have any material effect upon the progress 
of public affairs. 

Reference has been made to the reform of the taxation 
system which included the abolition of a number of an- 
noying and oppressive imposts. ‘There followed a re- 
vision of the tariff on imports, for the dual purposes of 
promoting commerce and industry and of providing a 
revenue for the insular government. In December, 
1898, the United States had ordered maintenance of the 
old Spanish tariff, with certain modifications, chiefly 
dictated by the change of relations between Cuba and 
the United States. Subsequently other modifications 
were made from time to time as the need or desirability 
of them became apparent through experience. But on 
June 15, 1900, an entirely new tariff law went into 
effect, framed chiefly by American experts and following 
pretty closely the general lines of the American tariff 
system. Naturally it was calculated to encourage com- 
merce between Cuba and the United States, particularly 
by the admission of products of the latter country into 


184 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Cuban markets at a minimum of cost. In view of the 
scarcity of food in Cuba and the devastated condition of 
much of the agricultural lands, American food products, 
both meats and breadstuffs, thus gained easy access to 
the Cuban market. This seemed anomalous, since Cuba 
was an agricultural country capable of producing a large 
surplus of food for export instead of needing imports 
of food. It was obvious, however, that this feature of 
the tariff would be merely temporary, and in fact it was 
materially modified by the increase of rates on such im- 
ports very soon after the establishment of the Cuban 
government. 

Despite the fact that during the year about three mil- 
lion dollars’ worth of food was imported, the total of 
Cuban imports was less than in the preceding year; a 
circumstance due to the change in tariff rates. At the 
same time there was a very considerable increase in ex- 
ports. It was an interesting circumstance, also, that 
there was a decrease in trade with the United States; a 
pretty effective reply to the complaint which some made 
that the new tariff had been improperly framed so as to 
give the United States a monopoly of Cuban trade. It 
did give the United States some advantages which that 
country had not enjoyed before, but on the whole it 
was probably as fair and impartial as it could well have 
been made. Commercial reports showed that Cuban 
imports from the United States were $26,513,613 in 
1900 and $25,964,801 in 1901; and that Cuban exports 
to the United States were $31,371,704 in 1900 and $43,- 
428,088 in 1901. Thus Cuban purchases from the 
United States were decreasing slightly, while Cuban sales 
to the United States were greatly increasing, and the bal- 
ance of trade was growing more and more largely in 
Cuba’s favor. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE supreme work of the Government of Interven- 
tion, from the political point of view, was to prepare 
Cuba for complete self-government and then to relin- 
quish the control of the island to its own people. It 
was with that end in view that General Wood filled all 
possible offices with Cubans. It was also to the same 
end that the municipal election was held in June, 1900, 
under a new election law. Soon after that election there 
came a call for another, of vastly greater importance. 
On July 25, 1900, the President of the United States 
authorized General Wood as Military Governor of Cuba 
to issue a call for the election of a Cuban Constitutional 
Convention, which should be representative of the Cuban 
people and which should prepare the fundamental law 
of the independent insular government which was about 
to be erected. 

General Wood issued the call, fixing September 15 
as the date of the election. This call repeated and reaf- 
firmed the Congressional declaration of April 20, 1898, 
concerning the purpose of the United States not to annex 
Cuba but to “leave the government and control of the 
island to its people.” It also called upon the people of 
Cuba, through their Constitutional Convention, not only 
to frame and adopt a Constitution, but also, “as a part 
thereof, to provide for and agree with the Government of 
the United States upon the relations to exist between 
that government and the Government of Cuba.” That 


was a most significant thing. It made it quite clear that 
185 


186 THE HISTORY ‘OF CUBA 


the United States expected and intended that some special 
relations should exist between the two countries, apart 
from those ordinarily provided in treaties. 

Comment, criticism and protest were provoked; some 
temperate, some intemperate. Most of the unfavorable 
comments, and by far the most severe, came from the 
United States and were obviously animated by political 
hostility to the President. In Cuba the chief objection 
was based upon the ground that the island was thus re- 
quired to do something through a Constitutional Con- 
vention which that body was not intended to do but which 
should be done by the diplomatic department of the 
government; and also to put into the Constitution some- 
thing which did not belong there but which should be 
determined ina treaty. In this there was obviously much 
logical and moral force, and that fact was appreciated 
by General Wood, and by the government at Washing- 
ton, with the result that assurances were presently given 
that the order would be satisfactorily modified. On the 
strength of this assurance, which was given in undoubted 
good faith, Cubans generally prepared for the coming 
election and for the great work which lay beyond it. 
They had been so disturbed by the original form of the 
order that many had declared that they would not par- 
ticipate in the election or serve as delegates to the Con- 
vention. ‘The promise of modification mollified them, 
and thereafter all went smoothly and auspiciously. 

The call for the election was issued on August 11. 
The qualifications for suffrage which were prescribed 
were the same as those in the preceding municipal elec- 
tion, and were generally accepted as fair and just. The 
election was held on September 15, and it passed off 
in very much the same fashion as its predecessor. Only 
a moderate degree of popular interest was manifested 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 187 


in it, and the vote cast was not a large one. The candi- 
dates were divided among the three parties already men- 
tioned, but all save one were elected from the two radi- 
cal organizations, the Nationals and the Republicans. 
Just one, Senor Eliseo Giberga, of Matanzas province, 
was returned by the Conservative Union Democrats. 
There were a few charges of fraud, but they were vague 
and general in terms and were not formulated nor 
pressed, and in the main the result of the polling was 
accepted in good part. The number of delegates from 
each province had been prescribed in the call for the 
election. The roll of the convention comprised the 
names of many of the foremost members of the Cuban 
nation, distinguished in war, in statecraft and in science, 
and was well representative of all parts and parties of 
the island. 

The convention met for the first time on November 
5, 1900, at two o’clock in the afternoon. All the dele- 
gates were present, and a great multitude of the people 
gathered in and about the palace to witness the spectacle 
and to pay honor to the occasion. They were not alone 
from the capital, but from all parts of Cuba. Every 
province and almost every important municipality was 
represented. Expectant optimism prevailed. There 
was only one note of uncertainty. That was concerning 
the promised modification of the order concerning rela- 
tions with the United States. The modification had not 
yet been announced. There were a few who began to 
doubt whether it would ever be; but most put faith in 
the Military Governor and were sure that he would keep 
his word. 

He did. At the appointed moment, when all were as- 
sembled, General Wood called the Convention to order 
and addressed it briefly. 


188 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


“Tt will,” he said, “be your duty, first, to frame and 
adopt a Constitution for Cuba, and when that has been 
done, to formulate what, in your opinion, ought to be the 
relations between Cuba and the United States. The 
Constitution must be adequate to secure a stable, orderly 
and free government. When you have formulated the 
relations which, in your opinion, ought to exist between 
Cuba and the United States, the Government of the 
United States will doubtless take such action on its part 
as shall lead to a final and authoritative agreement be- 
tween the people of the two countries to the promotion 
of their common good.” He also reminded the Conven- 
tion that it had no authority to take any part in the ex- 
isting government of the island, or to do anything more 
than was prescribed in the order for its assembling. In 
thus speaking he was in fact reading to the Convention 
official instructions from Washington; in which the order 
concerning Cuban and American relations was mate- 
rially modified. There was nothing in the revised ver- 
sion about making the agreement a part of the Constitu- 
tion. The Convention was merely to express its opinion 
on the subject, to serve as a basis for further negotiations. 
General Wood emphasized this point distinctly, and it 
was received with entire satisfaction by the Convention 
and by the public. 

Having thus delivered to the Convention its instruc- 
tions and having expressed his personal good will and 
wishes for its success, General Wood retired and the Con- 
vention was left to its own counsels and devices. ‘There- 
upon Pedro Llorente, the oldest of the delegates, took 
the chair by common consent as temporary president, and 
Enrique Villuendas, the youngest delegate, similarly oc- 
cupied the desk of the secretary. A fitting oath of office 
was administered to all by the Chief Justice of the Su- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 189 


preme Court of the island; containing a formal renuncia- 
tion of all other citizenship and allegiance than Cuban, 
because several delegates had become naturalized citizens 
of the United States and it was necessary for them thus 
to resume their status as Cubans. On the principle that 
“What was good enough for us when we were struggling 
in the field is good enough for us here,” the rules of the 
Cuban Revolutionary Congress were adopted to govern 
the Convention. Finally Domingo Mendez Capote was 
elected permanent President of the Convention, and Al- 
fredo Zayas and Enrique Villuendas permanent Secre- 
taries. 

There followed the usual experience of such bodies: 
Divided counsels, cross purposes, and what not; all grad- 
ually working together toward a common end. A few 
public sessions were held, at which there was more 
speechmaking than work, but after a few weeks private 
sessions and a great deal of committee work became the 
rule. There was no division on party lines, and there 
was a lack of dominant leadership; both favorable cir- 
cumstances. Much attention was given to studying and 
analyzing the constitutions of all other republics in the 
world, in order to learn their good features and to avoid 
their errors and weaknesses. The constitution of the 
United States was of course among those studied, but 
rather less regard was paid to it than to others, for two 
reasons. One was, a desire to avoid even the appearance 
of making Cuba a mere appanage to or imitation of its 
northern neighbor, and the other was the very practical 
thought that the constitutions of Latin republics might be 
better suited to the Latin republic of Cuba than that of 
an Anglo-Saxon republic. 

By January 21 the Constitution was drafted in form 
sufficiently complete to permit it to be read to the whole 


190 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


convention in a public session, and thereafter there were 
daily discussions of its various provisions. Differences 
of opinion ranged from mere verbal form to the substance 
of the most momentous principles. There was a char- 
acteristic passage of verbal arms over a phrase in the 
preamble. That paragraph after stating the purpose of 
‘the Convention and of the Constitution, closed by “in- 
voking the favor of God.” When this was read the ven- 
erable Salvador Cisneros, formerly President of the Re- 
public, moved that the phrase be stricken out. Manuel 
Sanguilly made a long and dramatic speech, arguing 
with much passion that it really did not matter whether 
the phrase were included or not, but that it would best 
be left in, because that might please some and could hurt 
nobody. ‘Then the dean of the convention, Pedro Llor- 
ente, made an impassioned appeal for the retention of the 
words, to prove to the world that the Cubans were not a 
nation of infidels and atheists. In the end the phrase 
was retained. 

Another animated debate arose over the question of 
religious freedom and the relations of church and state, 
which was ended by the adoption of an article guaran- 
teeing freedom and equality for all forms of religion that 
were in accord with “Christian morality and public or- 
der,” and decreeing separation of church and state and 
forbidding the subsidizing of any church. The ques- 
tion of suffrage was intensely controversial. ‘There 
were those who dreaded the result of giving the ballot to 
tens of thousands of ignorant and illiterate men. Yet 
to disfranchise them would mean thus to debar thou- 
sands who had fought for Cuban independence in the 
late war, and it was not unreasonably feared that it 
would also cause dissatisfaction and resentment which 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 191 


would culminate in disorder and insurrection. In the 
end universal equal suffrage was adopted. 

The most bitter debate of all, however, was over the 
qualifications of the President of the Republic. A strong 
and persistent effort was made to imitate the Constitu- 
tion of the United States by requiring him to be a native 
citizen. But that would have debarred Maximo Go- 
mez, who was born in Santo Domingo. For that reason 
the proposed restriction was passionately opposed by all 
the friends of Gomez, and also by many who were not his 
friends and who would have opposed his candidacy for 
the Presidency but who felt that it would be disgraceful 
to put such a slight upon the gallant old hero of the two 
wars. On the other hand, the restriction was urged 
chiefly for that very reason, that it would debar Gomez; 
for, idolized as he was by the great mass of the Cuban 
people, he had a number of unrelenting enemies, espe- 
cially among these politicians whom he had opposed and 
overruled in the matter of the Cuban Assembly and the 
payment of soldiers at the end of the war. After several 
days of acrimonious discussion the friends of Gomez won 
by a narrow margin, and the offensive proposal was re- 
jected. 

There were many other controversial points, less per- 
sonal and more worthy of debate in such a gathering on 
bases not of personality but of principle. The govern- 
mental powers of the Provinces gave rise to debates re- 
sembling those over state rights in America. The rec- 
ognition of Cuban debts was a momentous matter. The 
method of electing Senators was also much discussed, as 
was the principle which the Military Administration had 
adopted of having the state and not the provinces or 
municipalities control public education. The right of 


192 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the government to expel objectionable aliens was the 
theme of a long and spirited discussion. With all the 
animation, sentiment and rhetoric in which Latin de- 
baters and orators more freely indulge than do the more 
phlegmatic Anglo-Saxons, all of these questions were 
very opted considered according to their merits, and 
<. were disposed of on that same 

basis. There was no haste, and 
there was no undue delay; while 
everything was done “decently and 
in order.” It took the Federal 
Convention of the United States 
four months of secret sessions to 
frame its Constitution, and its ca- 
reer was marked with many violent 
scenes, including the withdrawal 
“AURELIA castizto DeE_~—S Of the representatives of one of the 
i SeNTeEL chief states from the Convention. 

The Cuban Convention had no incidents so unpleasant as 
that, and it completed its work in three months and a half. 
February 21, 1901 was the crowning day. Ten days 
before the draft of the Constitution, as yet unsigned, had 
been published in pamphlet form. On the date named 
the Convention was to give it validity by signing it. 
The public was admitted to view the scene, the consuls 
of foreign powers were in attendance as specially invited 
guests, and a fine military band discoursed patriotic and 
classical music. The Constitution, finally engrossed, 


AURELIA CASTILLO DE GONZALEZ 


Aurelia Castillo de Gonzalez, poet and essayist, was born in Camaguey in 
1842, spent much time in European travel, and then settled in Havana. She 
first ‘attracted literary attention by her elegy on “E] Lugareno” in 1866, and 
since that time has been an incessant contributor to Cuban literature in 
verse and prose. She is the author of a fine study of the Life and Works 
of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, of a volume of fables, and a number of 
satires. Her complete works (to date) were published in five volumes in 
1913. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 193 


was read aloud, and then one by one the delegates 
marched up to the President’s desk and affixed their sig- 
natures. When the last name was written, all stood 
while the band played the national anthem of Cuba. 
The President of the Convention, Mendez Capote, made 
a graceful address of congratulation and good wishes; 
and the Convention adjourned, its work well ended. 

We have said that at the opening session, immediately 
after his introductory address, the American Military 
Governor left the hall. He did not revisit it, and neither 
he nor any American officer was ever present at any 
meeting of the Convention; nor was any American rep- 
resentative present at the closing function of the signing 
of the Constitution. ‘The purpose of that abstention was 
obvious. It was to avoid so much as the appearance or 
the suspicion of American meddling or dictation in the 
work of the Convention. General Wood had told the 
Convention that it had nothing to do with his govern- 
ment of the island. Conversely he wished to show that 
he and his government had nothing to do with the work 
of the Convention. 

The Constitution thus auspiciously brought into exist- 
ence declares Cuba to be a sovereign republic. The 
powers of government are much more centralized than 
those in the United States. The six Provinces have no 
such rights as have the states of America, though they 
have a liberal measure of local governmental power. 
They are not states or provinces, however, but mere de- 
partments—fractions of the whole instead of integral 
units. Each has a Governor and an elected Assembly. 
So each city and town has a mayor and a council. Mu- 
nicipalities have the power to levy taxes for local needs. 
The control of railroads and telegraphs is a national 
function, and the judicial system is also national. There 


194 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


is freedom of speech, of press and of worship. No pris- 
oner may be held longer than twenty-four hours with- 
out judicial process. Congress consists of a Senate and 
a House of Representatives. There are six Senators 
from each department, elected by the municipalities for 
six years, one third retiring every two years. Repre- 
sentatives are elected from districts by the people for 
four years, there being one member to every 25,000 in- 
habitants. Senators and Representatives must be 
twenty-five years old, and if not native citizens must 
have been naturalized eight years. The President and 
Vice-President are elected for four years by the people 
through electoral colleges, with a provision for minority 
representation, each citizen voting for only two-thirds 
of the number of electors to which his district is en- 
titled. Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed for 
life by the President with the ratification of the Senate. 
The civil law and constitutional guarantees can be sus- 
pended in case of emergency only by Congress when it 
is in session, but by the President when Congress is not 
in session. ‘The House of Representatives may impeach 
the President, when the Senate may suspend him from 
office, try him, and upon conviction remove him perma- 
nently. Amendments of the Constitution must be voted 
by two-thirds of both Houses and ratified by a popular 
convention specially called for the purpose. 

There can be no question that this was a highly cred- 
itable production, and one which amply merited the qual- 
ified approval which was given to it by Elihu Root, Sec- 
retary of War of the United States, when he said: “I 
do not fully agree with the wisdom of some of the pro- 
visions of this Constitution. But it provides for a re- 
publican form of government; it was adopted after long 
and patient consideration and discussion; it represents 


es 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 195 


the views of the delegates elected by the people of Cuba; 
and it contains no features which would justify the as- 
sertion that a government organized under it will not be 
one to which the United States may properly transfer the 
obligations for the protection of life and property under 
international law, assumed in the Treaty of Paris.” 

The first part of the Convention’s work was thus done. 
There remained the second part, the expression of Cuban 
opinion as to what ought to be the relations between that 
island and the United States. Over this a most unfortu- 
nate controversy arose, chiefly provoked and fomented, 
however, not by Cubans but by the partisan enemies of 
the President of the United States and of his policy, who 
did not scruple to intrigue against him in the affairs of 
foreign lands. It will be recalled that this hatred of 
him, provoked largely because of his insistence on ful- 
filling the pledge of Cuban freedom instead of seeking 
to serve certain sordid interests by forcibly annexing the 
island, culminated in the assassination of President Mc- 
Kinley at the incitement of his political foes. The op- 
position to him and to his policy in Cuba was continued 
unabated against his successor, President Roosevelt; and 
it was most unfortunate for both countries that the es- 
tablishment of Cuban self-government and the deter- 
mination of her relations to her northern neighbor, had to 
be effected in such circumstances. 

The United States government had to deal on the one 
hand with those who insisted that it should have no more 
special relations with Cuba than any other country had; 
and on the other with those who demanded the repudia- 
tion of the Congressional pledge and the forcible annexa- 
tion of the island. In those circumstances it was not 
strange that many Cubans were disinclined to make any 
such arrangement as had been required in the call for 


196 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the Convention. They recalled that the United States 
had declared that ‘“‘Cuba is of right and ought to be free 
and independent,” and they were not disposed to look 
beyond that declaration. 

Three considerations were too much overlooked on 
both sides, save by the thoughtful American and Cuban 
statesmen who finally solved the problem. One was that 
the United States had for nearly a century exercised a 
certain degree of protection or supervision over Cuba. 
It had repeatedly forbidden European powers to meddle 
with the island, and had for many years guaranteed and 
protected Spain in her possession of it. It was held 
to be only reasonable that a similar degree of interest 
should be maintained in the island in its independent 
status. The second point was that in the Treaty of 
Paris in 1898 the United States had incurred a certain 
moral if not a legal responsibility for the future of Cuba. 
The third was the much less specific yet by no means 
negligible consideration that the United States had in- 
tervened in Cuba to put an end to conditions which had 
become intolerably offensive to it, and it was therefore 
equitably entitled to take all proper precautions against 
a recurrence of such conditions. 

In pursuance of the requirements of the call for the 
Convention, then, immediately after the signing of the 
Constitution, a committee was appointed to draft a 
project concerning relations with the United States. It 
consisted of Diego Tamayo, Gonzalo de Quesada, Juan 
Gualberto Gomez, Enrique Villuendas, and Manuel 
Ramon Silva. These gentlemen conferred with General 
Wood, to learn the wishes of President McKinley, and 
then drafted a scheme which they presented to the Con- 
vention and which that body adopted on February 27. 
Unfortunately between the President’s wishes and the 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 197 


committee’s project there were radical differences. The 
President, through his Secretary of War, Elihu Root, 
had on February 9 expressed with much circumstance 
and detail and a wealth of argument the relationship 
which the United States government regarded as essen- 
tial. It amounted tothis: That the Cuban government 
should never make any treaty or engagement which would 
impair its independence, nor make any special agree- 
ment with any foreign power without the consent of the 
United States; that it should contract no public debt in 
excess of the capacity of the ordinary revenues of the 
island; that the United States should have the right of 
intervention for the preservation of Cuban independence 
and the maintenance of a stable government; that all the 
acts of the American Military Administration should be 
validated; and that the United States should be per- 
mitted to acquire and to hold naval stations in Cuba at 
certain points. 

The Committee of the Convention reported that in its 
judgment some of these conditions were unacceptable, 
inasmuch as they impaired the independence of Cuba. 
So it proposed and the Convention adopted proposals 
to this effect: That Cuba should never impair her in- 
dependence by any agreement with any power, not ex- 
cepting the United States; that she should never permit 
her territory to be used as a base or war against the 
United States; that she accepted the obligations expressed 
and implied in the Treaty of Paris; that she should 
validate the acts of the Military Government “for the 
good government of Cuba”; and that the United States 
and Cuba should regulate their commercial relations by 
means of a reciprocity treaty. 

Obviously, there was a wide divergence between the 
two schemes. It was unfortunate that the American 


198 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Congress was about to adjourn, on March 4, and was re- 
luctant to reassemble in special session, and also that the 
political passions to which we have referred were rag- 
ing at so high a pitch. In more favorable circumstances 
the matter would have been settled diplomatically with- 
out friction or ill-feeling. ‘There was, indeed, a very 
considerable conservative party in Cuba, probably com- 
prising a majority of the substantial, well informed and 
orderly inhabitants, who favored some such scheme of 
American supervision and control as that which had been 
proposed, and if there had been a little more time for 
calm deliberation they would probably have won the 
Convention and the whole island to their point of view. 
Unhappily the government at Washington determined 
to finish the matter up before Congress adjourned on 
March 4, and in the short time which intervened the 
passionate voice of faction was much more in evidence 
than the thoughtful and measured voice of patriotic 
counsel. 

Senator Orville H. Platt, of Connecticut, one of the 
ablest and fairest-minded men in that body, was the 
Chairman of the Committee on Relations with Cuba. It 
was probably he who suggested the modification which 
was made in the instructions to the Convention. He 
now declared that—which was perfectly true—the United 
States Congress had no power to approve, reject, or in 
any way amend or modify thé Cuban Constitution. 
Cuba was entitled to establish her own government with- 
out let or hindrance. But he also held that by virtue 
of the grounds of its intervention in Cuban affairs the 
United States possessed certain rights and privileges in 
that island above those of other powers, and that it was 
in duty bound, for the sake of both Cuba and itself, to 
provide in some assured way for the permanent safe- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 199 


guarding of those special interests. These views were 
approved by the best thought of both countries, and ulti- 
mately prevailed. 

In accordance with the views thus expressed, Senator 
Platt prepared as an addendum to the Army Appropria- 
tion bill, on February 25, the historic measure known 
as the Platt Amendment. This, consisting of eight brief 
paragraphs, embodied the very points which the Presi- 
dent had already made on February 9, with the addition 
of three more. One of these was, that the Cuban gov- 
ernment should maintain the work of sanitation already 
so auspiciously begun, for the protection of its own 
people and also the people of the United States from 
epidemic pestilence; a requirement which was probably 
quite superfluous, seeing that the Cubans were as intent 
as the Americans upon the elimination of yellow fever 
and malaria. The second was, that the Isle of Pines 
should be omitted from the proposed constitutional 
boundaries of Cuba, the title thereto being left for future 
adjustment by treaty. This extraordinary demand was a 
bad blot upon the measure, and it is difficult to under- 
stand how it ever was permitted to be inserted at the 
behest of some unscrupulous and sordid scheme of ex- 
ploitation. Happily, subsequent treaty agreements and 
court decisions defeated its purpose and confirmed Cuba 
in her title to the Isle of Pines. The third was the re- 
quirement that Cuba should make this Platt Amendment 
either a part of her Constitution or an ordinance under 
it and appended to it, and should also embody it in a 
permanent treaty with the United States. 

At this the storm broke. The great mass of the con- 
servative and thoughtful people of Cuba, while they 
regretted the need of it, recognized the necessity of such 
an arrangement, and earnestly favored the acceptance of 


200 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the Platt Amendment, even with the one or two objec- 
tionable features. But the radicals vigorously opposed 
it, and in their opposition were greatly encouraged by 
the factional enemies of the President in the United 
States, who broke all bounds of decency, and not only 
raged against him there but organized a propaganda in 
Cuba itself, to incite Cubans to oppose and resist the 
United States. In this the foremost of such agitators 
were doubly false. They were not only stirring up a 
foreign people against their own country, but they were 
doing so with the deliberate and malignant hope of pre- 
cipitating an armed conflict between the two countries 
which would result in the conquest and forcible annexa- 
tion of Cuba. While pretending to sympathize with 
Cuba and to resent the alleged American impairment of 
her sovereignty, they were really scheming for the utter 
destruction of Cuban independence. 

Agitation, discussion, proposals and counter pro- 
posals, upon none of which could the Convention agree, 
continued week after week. At the end of March the 
question arose of sending a Commission to Washington 
to see the President. This was opposed violently, chiefly 
at the incitement of American emissaries, who busied 
themselves in Cuba in urging the rejection of everything 
that promised a settlement of the controversy. On April 
1 some unscrupulous intriguer caused a message to be 
telegraphed from Washington to the effect that if a Com- 
mission came it would not be received; and this was 
received in Havana just as the Convention was about te 
vote to send such a Commission. Naturally, the Com- 
mission was not sent. On April 9, having learned that 
the message was unofficial and mischievous, the Conven- 
tion reconsidered the matter and by an overwhelming 
majority voted to send a commission. Again mysterious 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 201 


dispatches came from Washington, saying that the Presi- 
dent was resolute in refusing to recognize any Cuban en- 
voys, and in consequence the sending of the Commission 
was delayed. 

Then the proposal was made that the Convention 
should reject the Platt Amendment outright, and after- 
ward send a Commission to Washington; and this was 
actually carried, though by mistake, some members vot- 
ing exactly contrary to the way they intended. ‘Then it 
was voted to send a Commission, with special instruc- 
tions to try to secure the inclusion of a commercial 
treaty in the Platt Amendment. With this in view the 
Convention on April 15 designated five members of such 
a Commission. They were Mendez Capote, the Presi- 
dent of the Convention; Diego Tamayo, Leopoldo Ber- 
riel, Pedro Gonzales Llorente, and Rafael Portuondo; 
but as Dr. Berriel could not go, General Pedro Betan- 
court was named in his place. The Commission sailed 
for Washington on April 20. General Wood also sailed 
on the same day, though on another steamer. The 
Cubans reached Washington four days later, and the 
next day, in contradiction to the false dispatches which 
had been sent, they were courteously received by Presi- 
dent McKinley. After a brief interview he introduced 
them to the Secretary of War, to whose department Cuban 
affairs, under a Military governor, belonged. He re- 
ceived them most cordially. Indeed, he had strongly 
wished them to come to Washington for a conference. 
He told them frankly that the Platt Amendment must 
stand, just as it was, and that it must be accepted and 
adopted by Cuba before any further steps could be taken 
for the establishment of a Cuban government. Then, at 
their request, he gave a detailed explanation of what the 
United States government conceived to be the meaning, 


202 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the purpose and the effect of each of the provisions of 
that instrument. He especially showed that it was 
merely a logical continuation of long established Amer- 
ican policy; that it was intended not for the gain of the 
United States but for the protection of Cuba; and that it 
would in no way interfere with the domestic self-sov- 
ereignty of the Cuban people, or with the rank of Cuba 
as an independent nation among the nations of the 
world. 

The Committee returned to Havana and reported to 
the Convention the results of its mission, and the Con- 
vention resumed consideration of the American demands 
in the new light of Mr. Root’s exposition of them. Fac- 
tion was still furious. Enemies of the President in,the 
United States went to Cuba or sent word thither, urging 
the radical element to hold out to the bitter end against 
the Platt Amendment, saying that it would need only a 
little longer resistance to compel the American govern- 
ment to abandon it altogether. Counsels were divided 
in the Convention, and numerous proposals of substi- 
tutes for the Amendment or for parts of it were made, 
but upon none of them could the Convention agree. 
Some of the most radical members suggested that the 
Convention adjourn without day. But on the whole 
wiser counsels prevailed. The Commission had been 
much impressed by Mr. Root’s candid and cogent pre- 
sentation of the case. It had also become convinced that 
if the Amendment were adopted a liberal reciprocity 
measure would be granted which would be of vast value 
to Cuban commerce and industry. Consideration of the 
subject continued until the latter part of May. On May 
28 the question of adoption of the Platt Amendment 
with certain qualifications was presented to the Con- 
vention for a final vote. The Convention divided 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 203 


equally. There were fourteen ayes and fourteen nays. 
Thereupon the President, Mendez Capote, cast the decid- 
ing ballot. He voted aye. This caused a renewal of 
the storm. Diego Tamayo and Juan Gualberto Gomez 
were especially outspoken in their denunciation of all 
who had voted for the measure, and some of the former’s 
remarks were so severe that their retraction was required. 
The qualified acceptance of the Amendment was not, 
however, satisfactory to the Washington government, and 
the Convention was promptly informed of that fact. In 
consequence the matter was reopened, and on June 12, 
after a brief and temperate debate, a final vote was taken 
on unconditional acceptance and adoption of the Platt 
Amendment. The result was sixteen ayes to eleven nays. 

That ended the matter. The Amendment had be- 
come a permanent addendum to the Cuban Constitu- 
tion, and the relations between the island’s future gov- 
ernment and the United States was irrevocably deter- 
mined. There was little further criticism. The Amer- 
ican agitators and speculators who had been inciting the 
Cubans to resistance, in order thus to make them com- 
pass their own ruin, abandoned their execrable intrigues 
for other ventures elsewhere, while the Cubans who had 
been their dupes, relieved of their pernicious influence, 
soon began to appreciate the reasonableness of most of 
the provisions of the Amendment and the very material 
benefits which it would bestow upon Cuba. 


CHAPTER XII 


Tue concretion of Cuban history is in the Constitu- 
tion of the Cuban Republic. In that document are real- 
ized the hopes of a patient but resolute people. In it 
are embodied the ideals for which Lopez fought and 
died; for which Cespedes strove; for which Marti 
pleaded and taught and planned; for which Maximo 
Gomez and Antonio Maceo battled against desperate 
odds; for which Estrada Palma gave the ripe statesman- 
ship of a devoted life. ‘There were provisional constitu- 
tions before, drafted in mountain camps in the intervals 
between battles, but they represented aspirations rather 
than achievements. It was reserved for the time of 
triumph, when the Spaniard was forever driven from 
the Cuban shores, and the Pearl of the Antilles was no 
more made to adorn an alien diadem, for the statesman- 
ship of the island in calm deliberation to frame the in- 
strument which was to confirm and safeguard for all 
time that which had been won with the blood of innu- 
merable martyrs, and which was to erect the Cuban people 
into the Cuban Nation. 

We shall profitably pause for a space in our narrative, 
to note what manner of Constitution it was that was thus 
adopted: 

We, the delegates of the people of Cuba, in national 
convention assembled for the purpose of framing and 
adopting the Fundamental Law under which Cuba is to 
be organized as an independent and sovereign State, and 


be given a government capable of fulfilling its interna- 
204 


CHAPTER XIT 


re 


} fe coprcretion ef Cuban history is a the 
% of the Cuban Republic. ~In that docum 
d the hopes of a patient but resolute: 
are embodied the ideals for which Lop 


Hise: for which ron strove; for 


¥ 
p re PAE 1 and taught TH bt 2 
Romane and Avitemis ? LAs THE ¢ x TOI { 
.. The Capitol, the new b 
the eg te the a 


- work 
ee fine site i in the h 
a agp 


salen. Ww Ya the Span 
the faba shores, and the Ae 
wire made'to adorn an alien diadem, for # es 
of the island in calm deliberation tof 
oi which was to confirm and safep 
Vyat which had been won with the bloc 


Peticy. ete Nation. 
3 ral profitably pause fora space ine 
vat Manner of Constitution it was 


gutes of the: people of cud 
mbled for the purpose of # 
; kbs Fundumenta al Law under which! 
be orgastised as an independent and sovereign & 
be gv 2 government capable of fulfiMingt 
204 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 2085 


tional obligations, preserving order, securing liberty and 
justice, and promoting the general welfare, do hereby 
ordain, adopt, and establish, invoking the favor of God, 
the following Constitution: 


TITLE I 


THE NATION, ITS FORM OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE 
NATIONAL TERRITORY 


ARTICLE 1. The people of Cuba constitute themselves 
into a sovereign, independent State and adopt a republi- 
cant form of government. 

Art. 2. The island of Cuba and the islands and islets 
adjacent thereto, which up to the date of the ratification 
of the treaty of Paris, of December 10, 1898, were under 
the sovereignty of Spain, form the territory of the Re- 
public. 

Art. 3. The territory of the Republic shall be divided 
into the six provinces which now exist, each of which 
shall retain its present boundaries. The determination 
of their names corresponds to the respective provincial 
councils. 

The provinces may by resolution of their respective 
provincial councils and the approval of Congress annex 
themselves to other provinces, or subdivide their terri- 
tory and form new provinces. 


TITLE II 
CUBANS 


Art. 4. Cuban nationality is acquired by birth or by 
naturalization. 
Art. 5. Cubans by birth are: 


206 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


1, All persons born of Cuban parents whether within 
or without the territory of the Republic. 

2. All persons born of foreign parents within the ter- 
ritory of the Republic, provided that on becoming of 
age they apply for inscription, as Cubans, in the proper 
register. 

3. All persons born in foreign countries of parents 
natives of Cuba who have forfeited their Cuban nation- 
ality, provided that on becoming of age they apply for 
their inscription as Cubans in the register aforesaid. 

Art. 6. Cubans by naturalization are: 

1. Foreigners who having served in the liberating 
army claim Cuban nationality within six months follow- | 
ing the promulgation of this constitution. 

2. Foreigners domiciled in Cuba prior to January 1, 
1899, who have retained their domicile, provided that 
they claim Cuban nationality within six months follow- 
ing the promulgation of this constitution, or if they are 
minors within a like period following the date on which 
they reach full age. 

3. Foreigners who after five years’ residence in the 
territory of the Republic, and not less than two years 
after the declaration of their intention to acquire Cuban 
nationality have obtained naturalization papers accord- 
ing to law. 

4. Spaniards residing in the territory of Cuba on the 
11th day of April, 1899, who failed to register them- 
selves as such in the corresponding register within one 
year thereafter. 

5. Africans who were slaves in Cuba, and those 
“emancipated” referred to in article 13 of treaty of June 
28, 1835, between Spain and England. 

Art. 7. Cuban nationality is lost: 

1. By the acquisition of foreign citizenship. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 207 


2. By the acceptance of employment or honors from 
another government without permission of the Senate. 

3. By entering the military service of a foreign nation 
without the said permission. 

4. In cases of naturalized Cubans, by their residence 
for five years continuously in the country of origin, ex- 
cept when serving an office or fulfilling a commission 
of the Government of the Republic. 

ArT. 8. Cuban nationality may be reacquired in the 
manner to be provided by law. 

Art. 9. Every Cuban shall be bound: 

1. To bear arms in defense of his country in such 
cases and in such manner as may be determined by the 
laws. 

2. To contribute to the payment of public expenses in 
such manner and proportion as the laws may prescribe. 


TITLE III 
FOREIGNERS 


Art. 10. Foreigners residing within the territory of 
the Republic shall be on the same footing as Cubans: 

1. In respect to protection of their persons and prop- 
erty. 

2. In respect to the enjoyment of the rights guaran- 
teed by Section first of the following title, excepting those 
exclusively reserved to citizens. 

3. In respect to the enjoyment of civil rights under 
the conditions and limitations prescribed in the law of 
aliens. 

4. In respect to the obligation of obeying the laws, 
decrees, regulations, and all other statutes that may be 
in force in the Republic, and complying with their pro- 
visions. 


208 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


5. In respect to submission to the jurisdiction and de- 
cisions of the courts of justice and all other authorities 
of the Republic. 

6. In respect to the obligation of contributing to the 
public expenses of the State, province, and municipality. 


TiTLE IV 
RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY THIS CONSTITUTION 
SECTION First 
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS 


Art. 11. All Cubans are equal before the law. The 
Republic does not recognize any personal prerogatives. 

ArT. 12. No law shall have retroactive effect, except 
when penal and favorable to the defendant. 

ArT. 13. Obligations of a civil nature arising out of 
contracts or other acts or omissions shall not be nulli- 
fied by either the legislative or the executive power. 

Art. 14. The penalty of death shall in no case be im- 
posed for offenses of political character, said offenses to 
be defined by law. 

ArT. 15. No person shall be detained except in the 
cases and in the manner prescribed by law. 

ArT. 16. Every arrested person shall be set at liberty 
or placed at the disposal of the competent judge or court 
within twenty-four hours immediately following the ar- 
rest. 

Art. 17. All arrests shall be terminated, or turned into 
formal imprisonments, within seventy-two hours, im- 
mediately after the delivery of the arrested person to the 
judge or court of competent jurisdiction. Within the 
same time notice shall be served upon the interested party 
of the action taken. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 209 


Art. 18. No person shall be imprisoned except by or- 
der of a competent judge or court. 

The order directing the imprisonment shall be af- 
firmed or reversed, upon the proper hearing of the 
prisoner, within seventy-two hours next following the 
committal. 

Art. 19. No person shall be prosecuted or sentenced 
except by a competent judge or court, by virtue of laws 
in force, prior to the commission of the offense, and in 
the manner and form prescribed by said laws. 

Art. 20. Every person arrested or imprisoned without 
the formalities of law, or outside of the cases foreseen 
in this constitution or the laws, shall be set at liberty at 
his own request or that of any citizen. 

The law shall determine the form of summary pro- 
ceedings to be followed in this case. 

Art. 21. No one shall be bound to testify against him- 
self, neither shall he be compelled to testify against his 
consort, nor against his relatives within the fourth degree 
of consanguinity or second of affinity. 

ArT, 22. The secrecy of correspondence and other pri- 
vate documents is inviolable, and neither shall be seized 
or examined except by order of a competent authority 
and with the formalities prescribed by the laws. In all 
cases matters therein contained not relating to the sub- 
ject under investigation shall be kept secret. 

Art. 23. Domicile is inviolable; and therefore no one 
shall enter at night the house of another except by per- 
mission of its occupant, unless it be for the purpose of 
giving aid and assistance to victims of crime or accident; 
or in the daytime, except in the cases and in the manner 
prescribed by law. 

Art. 24. No person shall be compelled to change his 
domicile or residence except by virtue of an order issued 


210 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


by a competent authority and in the cases prescribed by 
law. 

Art, 25. Every one may freely express his ideas either 
orally or in writing, through the press, or in any other 
manner, without subjection to previous censorship; but 
the responsibilities specified by law, when attacks are 
made upon the honor of individuals, the social order, or 
the public peace, shall be properly enforced. 

Art. 26. The profession of all religions, as well as the 
practice of all forms of worship, is free, without any 
other restriction than that demanded by the respect for 
Christian morality and public order. The church shall 
be separated from the state, which in no case shall subsi- 
dize any religion. 

Art. 27. All persons shall have the right to address 
petitions to the authorities, to have them duly acted upon, 
and to be informed of the action taken thereon. 

Art. 28. All the inhabitants of the Republic have the 
right to assemble peacefully, without arms, and to asso- 
ciate with others for all lawful pursuits of life. 

Art. 29. All persons shall have the right to enter or 
leave the territory of the Republic, to travel within its 
limits, and to change their residence, without necessity 
of safe conducts, passports, except when otherwise pro- 
vided by the laws governing immigration, or by the au- 
thorities, in cases of criminal prosecution. 

Art. 30. No Cuban shall be banished from the ter- 
ritory of the Republic or prohibited from entering it. 

ArT. 31. Primary instruction shall be compulsory and 
gratuitous. The teaching of arts and trades shall also 
be gratuitous. Both shall be supported by the State, as 
long as the municipalities and Provinces, respectively, 
may lack sufficient funds to defray their expenses. 

Secondary and superior education shall be controlled 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 211 


by the State. All persons however, may, without re- 
striction, learn or teach any science, art, or profession, 
and found and maintain establishments of education 
and instruction, but it pertains to the State to determine 
what professions shall require special titles, what con- 
ditions shall be required for their practice and for the 
securing of diplomas, as well as for the issuing thereof 
as established by law. 

Art. 32. No one shall be deprived of his property, 
except by competent authority, upon proof that the con- 
demnation is required by public utility, and previous 
indemnification. If the indemnification is not previously 
paid, the courts shall protect the owners and, if needed, 
restore to them the property. 

Art. 33. In no case shall the penalty of confiscation 
of property be imposed. 

Art. 34. No person is bound to pay any tax or impost 
not legally established and the collection of which is not 
carried out in the manner prescribed by the laws. 

Art. 35. Every author or inventor shall enjoy the ex- 
clusive ownership of his work or invention for the time 
and in the manner determined by law. 

Art. 36. The enumeration of the rights expressly 
guaranteed by this Constitution does not exclude other 
rights based upon the principle of the sovereignty of the 
people and the republican form of Government. 

ArT. 37. The laws regulating the exercise of the rights 
which this Constitution guarantees shall be null and void 
if said rights are abridged, restricted, or adulterated by 
them. 


SECTION SECOND 
RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE 


Art. 38. All Cubans of the masculine sex, over 


212 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


twenty-one years of age, have the right of suffrage, ex- 
cept the following: 

1. Those who are inmates of asylums. 

2. Those judicially declared to be mentally incapaci- 
tated. 

3. Those judicially deprived of civil rights on ac- 
count of crime. — 

4. Those serving in the land or naval forces of the 
Republic when in active service. 

ArT. 39. The laws shall establish rules and methods 
of procedure to guarantee the intervention of the minori- 
ties in the preparation of the census of electors, and in 
all other electoral matters, and its representation in the 
House of Representatives and in the provincial and 
municipal councils. 


SECTION THIRD 
SUSPENSION OF CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTIES 


Art. 40. The guaranties established in articles 15, 16, 

17, 19, 22, 23, 24, and 27, section first of this title, shall 
not be suspended either in the whole Republic, or in any 
part thereof, except temporarily and when the safety 
of the state may require it, in cases of invasion of the 
territory or of serious disturbances that may threaten 
public peace. 
- Art. 41. The territory in which the guaranties men- 
tioned in the preceding article are suspended shall be 
ruled during the period of suspension acccrding to the 
law of public order which may have been previously 
enacted. But neither the said law, nor any other, shall 
order the suspension of other guaranties not mentioned 
in the said article. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 213 


Nor shall any new offenses be created, or new penal- 
ties not established by the law which was in force at the 
time of the suspension, be ordered to be inflicted during 
the same. 

The executive power is hereby forbidden to exile or 
expel from the country any citizen thereof, or compel 
him to reside at any other place farther than one hun- 
dred and twenty kilometers from his domicile. Nor 
shall it detain any citizen for more than ten days, with- 
out delivering him to the judicial authorities, or repeat 
the detention during the time of the suspension of guar- 
anties. ‘The detained individuals shall be kept in spe- 
cial departments in the public establishments destined for 
the detention of prisoners charged with common of- 
fenses. 

Art. 42. The suspension of the guaranties specified 
in article 40 shall be ordered only and exclusively by 
means of a law, but if Congress is not in session, it 
can be ordered by a decree of the President of the Re- 
public. But the President shall have no power to sus- 
pend the guaranties more than once during the period 
intervening between two sessions of Congress, or for an 
indefinite period of time, or for a period longer than 
thirty days, without calling at the same time Congress to 
meet. In all cases the President shall report the facts to 
Congress, in order that it may act as deemed proper. 


TITLE V 
THE SOVEREIGNTY AND THE PUBLIC POWERS 


Art. 43. The sovereignty is vested in the people of 
Cuba, and from the said people all the public powers 
emanate. 


214 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


TITLE VI 
THE LEGISLATIVE POWER 
SECTION First 
THE LEGISLATIVE BODIES 


Art. 44. The legislative power is vested in two elec- 
tive bodies, to be known as the Chamber of Representa- 
tives and the Senate; the two together constituting the 
Congress. 


SECTION SECOND 
THE SENATE, ITS MEMBERSHIP AND ITS POWERS 


Art. 45. The Senate shall consist of four Senators 
for each Province, to be elected in each one for a period 
of eight years by the provincial councilors, and by double 
that number of electors forming with the councilors an 
electoral college. 

One-half of the electors shall consist of citizens pay- 
ing the greatest amount of taxes, and the other half 
shall possess the qualifications required by law. But 
it is necessary for all of them to be of full age and resi- 
dents of the Province. 

The election of electors shall be made by the provin- 
cial voters one hundred days before that of the senators. 

The Senate shall be renewed by halves every four 
years. 

ArT. 46. No one shall be a senator who has not the 
following qualifications: 

1. To be a Cuban by birth. 

2. To be over thirty-five years of age. 

3. To be in the full enjoyment of civil and political 
rights. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 215 


Art. 47. The Senate shall have the following exclu- 
sive powers: 

1. To try, sitting as a tribunal of justice, the impeach- 
ment of the President of the Republic, upon charges made 
against him by the Chamber of Representatives, for crimes 
against the external security of the State, against the free 
exercise of the legislative or judicial powers, or for viola- 
tion of the constitutional provisions. 

2. To try, sitting as a tribunal of justice, the impeach- 
ment of the secretaries of state, upon charges made against 
them by the Chamber of Representatives, for crimes 
against the external security of the State, the free exercise 
of the legislative or judicial powers, violation of the con- 
stitutional provision, or any other crime of political char- 
acter determined by law. 

3. To try, sitting as a tribunal of justice, the impeach- 
ment of the governors of Provinces, upon charges made 
against them by the provincial councils or by the Presi- 
dent of the Republic for any of the crimes named in the 
foregoing paragraph. 

When the Senate sits as a tribunal of justice, it shall 
be presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 
and shall not impose any other penalty than that of re- 
moval from office, or removal from office and disqualifi- 
cation from holding any public office; but the infliction 
of any other penalty upon the convicted official shall be 
left to the courts declared by law to be competent for 
the purpose. 

4. To confirm the nominations made by the President 
of the Republic for the positions of Chief Justice and 
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, diplomatic rep- 
resentatives and consular agents of the nation, and all 
other public officers whose nominations require the ap- 
proval of the Senate in accordance with the law. 


216 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


5. To authorize Cuban citizens to accept employment 
or honors from foreign governments or to serve in their 
armies. 

6. To approve the treaties entered into by the Presi- 
dent of the Republic with other nations. 


SECTION THIRD 


THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ITS MEMBERSHIP 
AND ITS POWERS 


ArT. 48. The House of Representatives shall consist 
of one representative for each twenty-five thousand in- 
habitants or fraction thereof over twelve thousand five 
hundred, elected for the period of four years by the direct 
vote of the people and in the manner provided by law. 

The House of Representatives shall be renewed by 
halves every two years. 

ArT. 49. No one shall be a Representative who has 
not the following qualifications: 

1. To be a Cuban citizen by birth or by naturalization, 
provided in the latter case that the candidate has resided 
eight years in the Republic, to be counted from the date of 
his naturalization. 

2. To have attained to the age of twenty-five years. 

3. To be in full possession of all civil and political 
rights. 

Art. 50. The power to impeach before the Senate the 
President of the Republic and the cabinet ministers, in the 
cases prescribed in paragraphs first and second of article 
47 corresponds to the House of Representatives. But 
the concurrence of two-thirds of the total number of Rep- 
resentatives, in secret session, shall be required to exer- 
cise this right. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 217 


SECTION FourRTH 
PROVISIONS COMMON TO BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS 


ArT. 51. The positions of Senator and Representa- 
tive are incompatible with the holding of any other paid 
position of Government appointment, except a professor- 
ship in a Government institution, obtained by competitive 
examination prior to the election. 

ArT. 52. Senators and Representatives shall receive 
from the State a pecuniary remuneration, alike for both 
positions, the amount of which may be changed at any 
time; the change shall not take effect until after the re- 
newal of the legislative bodies. 

ArT. 53. Senators and Representatives shall be in- 
violable for their votes and opinions in the discharge of 
their duties. Senators and Representatives shall only be 
arrested or indicted upon permission of the body to which 
they belong, if Congress is then in Session, except in case 
of flagrante delicto. In this case, and in the case of the 
arrest or indictment being made when Congress is not in 
session, the fact shall be reported, as soon as practicable, 
to the respective House for proper action. 

Art. 54. Both Houses of Congress shall open and 
close their sessions on the same day; they shall meet in 
the same city, and neither shall move to any other place, 
or adjourn for more than three days, except by common 
consent. Nor shall they begin to do business without 
two-thirds of the total number of their members being 
present, or continue their sessions without the attendance 
of an absolute majority. 

ArT. 55. Each House shall be the judge of the election 
of its respective members and shall also pass upon their 
resignations. No Senator or Representative shall be ex- 
pelled from the House to which he belongs, except upon 


218 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


grounds previously determined, and the concurrence of at 
least two-thirds of the total number of its members. 

ArT. 56. Each House shall frame its respective rules 
and regulations, and elect from among its members its 
president, vice-presidents and secretaries. But the presi- 
dent of the Senate shall not discharge his duties as such, 
except in case the Vice-President of the Republic is ab- 
sent or acting as President. 


SECTION FIFTH 
CONGRESS AND ITS POWERS 


Art. 57. Congress shall assemble, without necessity 
of previous call, twice in each year, each session to last 
not less than forty working days. The first session shall 
begin on the first Monday in April and the second on the 
first Monday in November. 

It shall meet in extra session in such cases and in such 
manner as may be provided by its rules and regulations 
and when called to convene by the President of the Re- 
public in accordance with the provisions of this Constitu- 
tion. In both cases it shall only consider the express ob- 
ject or objects for which it assembles. 

Art. 58. Congress shall meet in joint session to pro- 
claim, after counting and verifying the electoral vote, the 
President and Vice-President of the Republic. 

In this case the president of the Senate, and in his 
absence the president of the House of Representatives, as 
vice-president of the Congress, shall preside over the joint 
meeting. 

If upon counting the votes for President it is found that 
none of the candidates has an absolute majority of votes, 
or if the votes are equally divided, Congress, by the same 
majority, shall elect as President one of the two candi- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 219 


dates having obtained the greatest number of votes. 

Should more than two candidates receive the highest 
number of votes—no one obtaining an absolute majority 
—two or more having secured the same number, Congress 
shall elect from said candidates. 

The method established in the preceding paragraph 
shall be also employed in the election of Vice-President 
of the Republic. 

The counting of the electoral vote shall take place prior 
to the expiration of the Presidential term. 

ArT. 59. Congress shall have the following powers: 

1. To enact the national codes and the laws of a gen- 
eral nature; to determine the rules that shall be observed 
in the general, provincial, and municipal elections; to 
issue orders for the regulation and organization of all 
services pertaining to the administration of national, 
provincial, and municipal government; and to pass all 
other laws and resolutions which it may deem proper re- 
lating to other matters of public interest. 

2. To discuss and approve the budgets of the revenues 
and expenses of the Government. The said revenues and 
expenses, except such as will be mentioned hereafter, shall 
be included in annual budgets which shall be available 
only during the year for which they shall have been ap- 
proved. 

The expenses of Congress, those of the administration 
of justice, and those required to meet the interest and re- 
demption of loans, shall have, the same as the revenues 
with which they have to be paid, the character of perma- 
nent and shall be included in a fixed budget which shall 
remain in force until changed by special laws. 

3. To contract loans, with the obligation, however, of 
providing permanent revenues for the payment of the in- 
terest and redemption thereof. 


220 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


All measures relating to loans shall require the vote 
of two-thirds of the total numbers of the members of each 
House. 

4. To coin money, fixing the standard, weight, value, 
and denomination thereof. 

5. To regulate the system of weights and measures. 

6. To make provisions for regulating and developing 
internal and foreign commerce. 

7. To regulate the services of communications and 
railroads, roads, canals, and harbors, creating those re- 
quired by public convenience. 

8. To levy such taxes and imposts of national charac- 
ter as may be necessary for the needs of the government. 

9. To establish rules and proceedings for obtaining 
naturalization. 

10. To grant amnesties. 

11. To fix the strength of the land and naval forces 
and provide for their organization. 

12. To declare war and approve treaties of peace nego- 
tiated by the President of the Republic. 

13. To designate, by means of a special law, the offi- 
cial who shall act as President of the Republic in case 
of death, resignation, removal, or supervenient inability 
of the President and Vice-President. 

ArT. 60. Congress shall not attach to appropriation 
bills any provision tending to make changes or reforms 
in the legislation or in the administration of the Govern- 
ment; nor shall it diminish or abolish revenues of per- 
manent character without creating at the same time new 
revenues to take their place, except in case that the de- 
crease or abolition depend upon the decrease or abolition 
of the equivalent permanent expenses. Nor shall Con- 
gress appropriate for any service to be provided for in the 
annual budget a larger sum of money than that recom- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 221 


mended in the estimates submitted by the Government; 
but Congress may by means of special laws create new 
services and reform or give greater scope to those al- 
ready existing. 


SECTION SIXTH 


INITIATIVE, PREPARATION, APPROVAL, AND 
PROMULGATION OF LAWS 


Art. 61. The right to initiate legislation is vested with- 
out distinction in both houses of Congress. 

Art. 62. Every bill passed by the two houses, and 
every resolution of the same which has to be executed by 
the President of the Republic, shall be submitted to him 
for approval. If they are approved, they shall be signed 
at once by the President. If they are not approved, they 
shall be returned by the President, with his objections, to 
the house in which they originated, which shall enter 
said objections upon its journal and engage again in the 
discussion of the subject. 

If after this new discussion two-thirds of the total 
number of the members of the house vote in favor of the 
bill or resolution as originally passed, the latter shall be 
referred with the objections of the President, to the other 
house, where it shall be also discussed, and if the measure 
is approved there by the same majority it shall become 
law. In all these cases the vote shall be by yeas and 
nays. 

If within ten working days immediately following the 
sending of the bill or resolution to the President, the latter 
fails to return it, it shall be considered approved and shall 
become law. 

If within the last ten days of a session of Congress a 
bill is sent to the President of the Republic, and he wishes 


222 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


to take advantage of the whole time granted him in the 
foregoing paragraph for the purposes of approval or dis- 
approval, he shall acquaint the Congress with his desire, 
so as to cause it to remain in session, if it so wishes, until 
the end of the ten days. The failure by the President to 
do so shall cause the bill to be considered approved and 
become law. 

No bill totally rejected by one house shall be discussed 
again in the same session. 

Art. 63. Every law shall be promulgated within ten 
days next following its approval by either the President 
or the Congress, as the case may be, under the provisions 
of the preceding article. 


TITLE VII 
THE EXECUTIVE POWER 
SECTION First 
THE EXERCISE OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER 


Art. 64. The executive power shall be vested in the 
President of the Republic. 


SECTION SECOND 


THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, HIS POWERS 
AND DUTIES 


ArT. 65. To be President of the Republic the follow- 
ing qualifications shall be required. 

1. To be a Cuban by birth or naturalization, and in 
the latter case to have served in the Cuban armies in the 
wars of independence for at least ten years. 

2. To be over forty years of age. 

3. To be in the full enjoyment of civil and political 
rights. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 223 


Art. 66. The President of the Republic shall be 
elected by presidential electors on the same day, in the 
manner provided by law. 

The term of office shall be four years, and no one shall 
be President for three consecutive terms. 

Art. 67. The President, before entering on the dis- 
charge of the duties of his office, shall take oath or af- 
firmation before the supreme court of justice to faithfully 
discharge his duties and comply and cause others to 
comply with the constitution and the laws. 

Art. 68. The President of the Republic shall have the 
following powers and duties: 

1. To approve and promulgate the laws, and obey and 
cause others to obey their provisions. To enact, if Con- 
gress has not done so, such rules and regulations as may 
be necessary for the proper execution of the laws; and to 
issue all orders or decrees which may be conducive to the 
same purpose or to any other purposes of government and 
the administration thereof in the Republic, provided that 
in no case the said orders or decrees are at variance with 
the provisions of the law. 

2. To call Congress, or the Senate alone, to meet in 
extra session in the cases set forth in the constitution, or 
when in his opinion the meeting may be necessary. 

3. He shall adjourn Congress when no agreement can 
be reached between the two houses on the question of 
adjournment. 

4. To transmit to Congress at the beginning of each 
session, and whenever he may deem it advisable, a mes- 
sage relating to the acts of his administration, showing 
the general condition of the affairs of the Republic, and 
recommending the adoption of such laws and measures 
as he may deem necessary or advisable. 

5. To submit to Congress through either one of the 


224 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Houses, before the 15th of November, a draft of the an- 
nual budget. 

6. To furnish Congress all the information desired by 
it on every matter of business which does not require 
secrecy. 

7. To conduct all diplomatic negotiations and con- 
clude treaties with foreign nations, provided that these 
treaties be submitted for approval of the Senate, without 
which requisite they shall be neither valid nor binding 
upon the Republic. 

8. To freely appoint and remove the Secretaries of 
State, giving Congress information of his action. 

9. To appoint, with the approval of the Senate, the 
Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme 
Court, and the diplomatic and consular agents of the Re- 
public. If the vacancy occurs at a time in which the 
Senate is not in session, he shall have power to make the 
appointment of said functionaries ad interim. 

10. To appoint all other public officers recognized by 
law, whose appointment is not entrusted to some other 
authority. 

11. To suspend the exercise of the rights enumerated 
in article 40 of the constitution in the cases and in the 
manner set forth in articles 41 and 42. 

12. To suspend the resolutions passed by the provin- 
cial and municipal councils in the cases and in the man- 
ner set forth in this constitution. 

13. To order the suspension of the governors of prov- 
inces in case they exceed their powers or violate the laws; 
but in these cases he shall report the fact to the Senate, 
in the manner and form determined by law, for such ac- 
tion as may be proper. 

14. To prefer charges against the governors of prov- 
inces in the cases set forth in paragraph 3 of article 47. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 225 


15. To grant pardons according to the provisions of 
the law, except in the case of public functionaries con- 
victed for wrongs done in the exercise of their functions. 

16. To receive diplomatic representatives and admit 
consular agents of other nations. 

17. To dispose of the land and sea forces of the Re- 
public as chief commander of the same. To provide for 
the defense of the national territory, reporting to Congress 
what he may have done on the subject. To provide for 
the preservation of peace and public order in the interior 
of the country. If there is danger of invasion or of any 
rebellion breaking out and gravely threatening the pub- 
lic safety, Congress not being in session at the time, the 
President shall call it to convene without delay for such 
action as may be deemed proper. 

Art. 69. The President shall not leave the territory of 
the Republic without the permission of Congress. 

Art. 70. The President shall be responsible before 
the Supreme Court for the common offense he may commit 
during his term of office, but he shall not be prosecuted 
without previous permission of the Senate. 

Art. 71. The President shall receive from the State 
a salary which may be changed at any time, but the 
change shall not go into effect until the next following 
presidential term. 


TitLe VIII 
THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC 


Art. 72. There shall be a Vice-President of the Re- 
public, who shall be elected in the same manner and for 
the same period of time as the President, and jointly with 
him. To be Vice-President the same qualifications set 
forth in this constitution to be President shall be required. 


226 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Art. 73. The Vice-President of the Republic shall be 
the President of the Senate, but he shall vote only in case 
that the votes of the Senators are equally divided. 

ArT. 74. In case of temporary or permanent absence 
of the President of the Republic, the Vice-President shall 
act in his place. If the absence is permanent, the Acting 
President shall continue in office until the end of the presi- 
dential term. 

Art. 75. The Vice-President shall receive from the 
State a salary which may be changed at any time, but the 
change shall not go into effect until the next following 
presidential term. 


TITLE IX 
THE SECRETARIES OF STATE 


Art. 76. For the transaction of the executive business 
the President of the Republic shall have as many Secre- 
taries of State as the law may determine, and no one shall 
be a Secretary of State who is not a Cuban citizen in the 
full enjoyment of his civil and political rights. 

Art. 77. All decrees, orders and decisions of the 
President of the Republic shall be counter-signed by the 
secretary of State to whom the matter corresponds. 
Without this signature no decree, order or decision of the 
President shall have binding force nor shall it be obeyed. 

Art. 78. The secretaries of state shall be personally 
responsible for the measures signed by them, and jointly 
and severally for the measures agreed upon or authorized 
by them at a cabinet meeting. This responsibility does 
not exclude the personal and direct responsibility of the 
President of the Republic. 

Art. 79. The secretaries of state shall be impeachable 
before the Senate by the House of Representatives in the 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 227 


cases mentioned in the second paragraph of article 47. 

Art. 80. The secretaries of state shall receive from 
the State a salary, which may be changed at any time, 
but the change shall not go into effect until the next fol- 
lowing presidential term. 


TITLE X 
THE JUDICIAL POWER 
SECTION First 
THE EXERCISE OF THE JUDICIAL POWER 


ArT. 81. The judicial power is vested in a Supreme 
Court of Justice and in all the other tribunals which may 
be established by law. The law shall regulate the respec- 
tive organization and powers of these tribunals, the man- 
ner of exercising their powers, and the qualifications re- 
quired of the judicial functionaries. 


SECTION SECOND 
THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE 


ArT. 82. To be Chief Justice or Associate Justice of 
the Supreme Court the following qualifications shall be 
required: 

1. To be a Cuban by birth. 

2. To be over thirty-five years of age. 

3. To be in the full enjoyment of civil and political 
rights and not to have been condemned to any corporal 
punishment for common offenses. 

4. To have in addition to the foregoing qualifications 
any one of the following: 

To have practiced in Cuba, during ten years at least, 
the profession of lawyer; or have discharged for the same 


228 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


length of time judicial functions, or have taught law for 
the same number of years in an official establishment. 

The following persons are also eligible for the posi- 
tions of Chief Justice or Associate Justices of the Su- 
preme Court, even if not having the qualifications set 
forth in clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this article: 

(a) Those who have served in the judiciary of the 
time determined by law in a position of equal or imme- 
diately inferior category. 

(b) Those who, previous to the promulgation of this 
constitution, served as justices of the supreme court of 
the island of Cuba. 

The time of service in the judiciary shall be computed 
as time of practice of law for the purpose of qualifying 
the lawyers to be appointed justices of the supreme court. 

ArT. 83. The Supreme Court shall have the following 
powers, in addition to those already vested or hereafter 
to be vested in it: 

1. To take cognizance of cases on a writ of error. 

2. To decide conflicts of jurisdiction between courts 
immediately inferior to it, or not having a common su- 
perior. 

3. To take cognizance of the cases to which the State 
on the one side and the provinces or municipalities on the 
other, are parties. 

4. To decide as to the constitutionality of the laws, 
decrees, and regulations when a question of that effect 
is raised by any party. 


SECTION THIRD 


GENERAL RULES REGARDING THE ADMINISTRATION 
OF JUSTICE 


Art. 84. Justice shall be administered gratuitously 
throughout the entire territory of the Republic. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 229 


Art. 85. The courts shall take cognizance of all cases, 
whether civil, criminal, or between the Government and 
private parties. 

ArT. 86. No judicial commissions or extraordinary 
tribunals, no matter under what name, shall ever be 
created. 

Art. 87. No functionary of the judicial order shall be 
suspended or removed from his office except for crime or 
any other grave cause, fully proven, and always after 
being heard. Nor shall he be transferred without his 
consent to any other place, unless it is for the manifest 
benefit of the public service. 

ArT. 88. All judicial functionaries shall be personally 
responsible, in the manner and form determined by law, 
for the violations of law which they may commit. 

ArT. 89. The salaries of judicial functionaries shall 
not be changed except at the end of periods of more than 
five years, and by means of a law. The law, however, 
shall not give different salaries to positions whose rank, 
category, and functions are equal. 

Art. 90. The courts for the forces of land and sea shall 
be governed by a special organic law. 


TitLe XI 
THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT 
SECTION First 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 


Art. 91. A province consists of the municipal districts 
established within its limits. 

Art. 92. Each province shall have a governor and a 
provincial council elected directly by the people, in the 
manner and form established by law. 


230 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


The number of councilors in each province shall not 
be less than eight nor more than twenty. 


SECTION SECOND 
THE PROVINCIAL COUNCILS AND THEIR POWERS 


ArT. 93. The provincial councils shall have the fol- 
lowing powers: 

1. To resolve upon matters concerning the provinces 
which, under the constitution, treaties or laws, are not 
within the: general jurisdiction of the State or the exclu- 
Sive jurisdiction of the municipal councils. 

2. To frame the budget of their expenses, providing 
at the same time for the necessary revenue to meet them, 
provided that this is done in a manner not inconsistent 
with the system adopted by the State. 

3. To contract loans for public works of provincial 
interest, provided that at the same time sufficient revenue 
is raised to meet the payment of interest and principal 
when due. 

Such loans shall not be carried into effect unless they 
are approved by two-thirds of the municipal councils of 
the province. 

4. To impeach before the Senate the governor of their 
respective province, in the case set forth in paragraph 3 
of article 47, when two-thirds of the total number of pro- 
vincial councilors decide in secret session that this should 
be done. 

5. To appoint and remove, atcording to law, the pro- 
vincial employes. 

Art. 94. The provincial councils shall have no power 
to diminish or abolish revenue of permanent character 
without creating at the same time other revenue to take 
its place, except in case that the decrease or suppression 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 231 


is due to the decrease or suppression of equivalent per- 
manent expenses. 

ArT. 95. The resolutions of the provincial councils 
shall be sent to the governor of the province. If ap- 
proved, they shall be signed by him; if not, they shall be 
returned with his objections to the council, wherein the 
subject shall be again discussed. If after the second dis- 
cussion the resolution is approved by two-thirds of the 
total number of councilors it shall become a law. 

If the governor does not return the resolution within ten 
days from the date of reference it shall be considered 
approved and shall become a law. 

Art. 96. The resolutions of the provincial councils 
may be suspended by the governor of the province or by 
the President of the Republic, whenever, in their opinion, 
they are contrary to the constitution, the laws, or any 
resolutions passed by the municipal councils in due exer- 
cise of their functions; but the right to take cognizance 
of and pass upon the claims which may arise out of the 
said suspension shall be reserved to the courts of justice. 

Art. 97. Neither the provincial councils nor any sec- 
tion or committees, selected from their members or from 
persons not members thereof, shall intervene in matters 
belonging to any class of elections. 

Art. 98. The provincial councilors shall be personally 
responsible before the courts in the manner determined 
by law for whatever may be done by them in the exercise 
of their functions. 


SECTION THIRD 


THE GOVERNORS OF PROVINCES AND THEIR POWERS 


Art. 99. The governors of provinces shall have the 
following powers: 


232 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


1. To comply and cause others to comply, as far as 
their provinces are concerned, with the laws, decrees, and 
general rules and regulations of the nation. 

2. To publish such resolutions of the provincial coun- 
cils as have force of law, and comply and cause others to 
comply with them. 

3. To issue orders, instructions, and rules for the 
proper execution of the resolutions of the provincial coun- 
cil, if the latter has not done so already. 

4. To call the provincial councils to convene in extra 
session whenever in his own judgment the same may be 
necessary. The subjects to be discussed in this session 
shall be set forth in the call. 

5. To suspend the resolutions of the provincial and mu- 
nicipal councils in the cases set forth in this constitution. 

6. To order the suspension of mayors, in case they 
have exceeded their powers, violated the constitution or 
the laws, acted in contravention to the resolutions of the 
provincial councils, or failed to do their duty. The sus- 
pension shall be reported to the provincial council in the 
manner and form established by law. 

7. To appoint and remove the employes of their offi- 
ces in the manner provided by law. 

Art. 100. The governors shall be responsible before 
the Senate in the cases set forth in this constitution, and 
before the courts of justice, according to the provisions of _ 
the law, in all other classes of offenses. 

Art. 101. The governors shall receive from the provin- 
cial treasury a salary, which may be changed at any time, 
but the change shall not take effect until after a new gov- 
ernor’s election is held. 

ArT. 102. In case of temporary or permanent vacancy 
of the position of governor of the province, the president 
of the provincial council shall act in his place. If the 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 233 


vacancy is permanent, the acting governor shall continue 
in the discharge of his duties as such until the end of the 
term. 

T1rLeE XII 


THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 
SECTION First 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 


Art. 103. The municipal districts shall be governed 
by municipal councils, consisting of aldermen or council- 
ors directly elected by the people, in the number and in 
the manner provided by law. 

Art. 104. There shall be in eath municipal district a 
mayor elected by the people by direct vote in the manner 
and form established by law. 


SECTION SECOND 
THE MUNICIPAL COUNCILS AND THEIR POWERS 


Art. 105. The municipal councils shall have the fol- 
lowing powers: 

1. To resolve on all matters exclusively relating to their 
own municipal districts. 

2. To prepare the budget of their expenses, providing 
at the same time, on condition, however, that this is done 
in a manner consistent with the general system of taxa- 
tion of the Republic. 

3. To resolve on the negotiation of loans, providing at 
the same time the permanent revenue necessary to meet 
the interest and principal when due. 

In order that these loans may be carried into effect, 
they shall have to be approved by two-thirds of the electors 
of the municipal district. 


234 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


4. To appoint and remove the municipal employes in 
the manner established by law. 

ArT. 106. The municipal councils shall not decrease 
or suppress any revenues of permanent character without 
establishing at the same time some other revenues which 
may take their place, except in case the decrease or sup- 
pression is due to the decrease or suppression of the 
equivalent permanent expense. 

Art. 107. The resolutions of the municipal councils 
shall be referred tothe mayor. If approved by him, they 
shall be authorized with his signature; if not, they shall 
be returned, with his objections, to the municipal council, 
wherein they shall be again discussed. If, after a second 
discussion, two-thirds of the total number of councilors 
vote in favor of the resolution it shall become a law. 

When the mayor does not return the resolution, within 
ten days after the date of reference, it shall be considered 
approved and become a law. 

Art. 108. The resolutions of the municipal councils 
may be suspended by the mayor, the governor of the 
province, or the President of the Republic, when in their 
opinion they are contrary to the constitution, the treaties, 
the laws, or the resolutions passed by the provincial coun- 
cils within the sphere of their powers. But the right to 
take cognizance and pass upon the claims which may 
arise out of said suspension shall be reserved to the courts 
of justice. 

Art. 109. The members of the municipal councils 
shall be personally responsible before the courts of justice, 
in the manner and form established by law, for the acts 
done by them in the performance of their duties. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 23a 


SECTION THIRD 
THE MAYORS AND THEIR POWERS AND DUTIES 


Art. 110. Mayors shall have power: 

1. To publish such resolutions of the municipal coun- 
cils as may have force of law, and execute and cause the 
same to be executed. 

2. To administer the municipal affairs, issuing orders 
and instructions as well as rules for the better execution of 
the resolutions of the municipal councils, whenever the 
latter may fail to do so. 

3. To appoint and remove the employes of their re- 
spective offices in the manner provided by law. 

ArT. 111. The Mayors shall be personally responsible 
before the courts of justice, in the manner prescribed by 
law, for all acts performed by them in the discharge of 
their functions. 

Art. 112. Each Mayor shall receive a salary, to be 
paid by the municipal treasury, which may be changed at 
any time; but such change shall not take effect until 
after a new election for Mayor has been held. 

ArT. 113. In case of vacancy, either temporary or per- 
manent, of the office of Mayor, the president of the muni- 
cipal council shall act as Mayor. 

Should the absence be permanent, the substitute shall 
act until the end of the term for which the Mayor was 
elected. 

Tirte XIII 


THE NATIONAL TREASURY 


ArT. 114. All property existing within the territory of 
the Republic not belonging to provinces, municipalities 
or private individuals or corporations, shall belong to the 
State. 


236 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


TITLE XIV 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 


Art. 115. The Constitution shall not be amended, in 
whole or in part, except by resolution passed by two- 
thirds of the total number of members of each House of 
Congress. 

Six months after the resolution to amend the Consti- 
tution has been passed, a constitutional convention shall 
be called to assemble for the exclusive and specific pur- 
pose of either approving or rejecting the amendment. 
Each House shall, in the meantime, continue to perform 
its duties with absolute independence of the convention. 

Delegates to the said convention shall be elected by each 
province at the rate of one for every fifty thousand in- 
habitants, in the manner that may be provided by law. 


TRANSIENT PROVISIONS 


First. ‘The Republic of Cuba does not recognize any 
other debts or obligations than those legitimately con- 
tracted in favor of the revolution by commanders of bodies 
of the liberating army, subsequent to the twenty-fourth 
day of February, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, and 
prior to the nineteenth day of September of the same 
year, on which date the Jimaguayu Constitution was pro- 
mulgated; and the debts and obligations contracted aft- 
erward, by the revolutionary government, either by itself 
or through its legitimate representatives in foreign coun- 
tries. Congress shall examine said debts and obligations 
and decide upon the payment of those which are found 
legitimate. 

Second. Persons born in Cuba, or children of native- 
born Cubans, who, at the time of the promulgation of this 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 237 


Constitution, are citizens of any foreign nation shall not 
enjoy the rights of Cuban nationality without first re- 
nouncing expressly the foreign citizenship. 

Third. The time of service of foreigners in the wars 
of independence of Cuba shall be counted as time of 
naturalization and residence, for the acquisition of the 
right granted to naturalized citizens in article 49. 

Fourth. The basis of population established in rela- 
tion to the election of representatives in Congress, and of 
delegates to the constitutional convention, in articles 48 
and 115, may be changed by law whenever, in the judg- 
ment of Congress, the change becomes necessary through 
the increase in the number of inhabitants, shown by cen- 
suses to be periodically taken. 

Fifth. At the time of the first organization of the 
Senate, the Senators shall be divided into two groups for 
the purpose of their renewal. 

Those forming the first group shall cease in their duties 
at the expiration of the fourth year, and those forming 
the second group at the expiration of the eighth year. It 
shall be decided by lot which of the two Senators from 
each province shall belong to either group. 

The law shall provide the method to be followed in the 
formation of the two groups into which the House of 
Representatives shall be divided for the purpose of its 
partial renewal. 

Sixth. Ninety days after the promulgation of the 
electoral law, which shall be framed and adopted by the 
constitutional convention, an election shall be held of the 
public functionaries provided by the Constitution, to 
whom the transfer of the Government of Cuba, in con- 
formity with the provisions of Order No. 301 of Head- 
quarters Division of Cuba, dated July twenty-fifth, nine- 
teen hundred, is to be made. 


238 - THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Seventh. All laws, decrees, regulations, orders and 
other provisions which may be in force at the time of 
the promulgation of this Constitution shall continue to 
be observed, in so far as they do not conflict with the said 
Constitution, until legally revoked or amended. 

Hall of sessicns of the Constitutional Convention, Ha- 
vana, February twenty-first, nineteen hundred and one. 

The Constitutional Convention, acting in conformity 
with the order of the Military Governor of the island, of 
July 25, 1900, by which it was called to assemble, resolves 
to attach, and does hereby attach to the Constitution of 
the Republic of Cuba adopted on February twenty-first 
ultimo, the following. 


APPENDIX 


ARTICLE I. The Government of Cuba shall never enter 
into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power 
or powers which will impair or tend to impair the inde- 
pendence of Cuba, nor in any way authorize or permit 
any foreign power or powers to obtain by colonization or 
for military or naval purposes, or otherwise, lodgment 
in or control over any portion of said island. 

ArT. II. That said Government shall not assume or 
contract any public debt to pay the interest upon which, 
and to make reasonable sinking-fund provision for the 
ultimate discharge of which, the ordinary revenues of the 
island, after defraying the current expenses of Govern- 
ment, shall be inadequate. 

Art. III. That the Government of Cuba consents that 
the United States may exercise the right to intervene for 
the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance 
of a government adequate for the protection of life, prop- 
erty, and individual liberty, and for discharging the obli- 
gations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 239 


Peace on the United States, now to be assumed and under- 
taken by the Government of Cuba. 

Art. IV. That all acts of the United States in Cuba 
during its military occupancy thereof are ratified and 
validated, and all lawful rights acquired thereunder 
shall be maintained and protected. 

Art. V. That the Government of Cuba will execute, 
and, as far as necessary, extend the plans already devised, 
or other plans to be mutually agreed upon, for the sani- 
tation of the cities of the island, to the end that a recur- 
rence of epidemic and infectious diseases may be pre- 
vented, thereby assuring protection to the people and com- 
merce of Cuba, as well as to the commerce of the southern 
ports of the United States and the people residing therein. 

Art. VI. That the Isle of Pines shall be omitted from 
the proposed constitutional boundaries of Cuba, the title 
thereto being left to future adjustment by treaty. 

Art. VII. That to enable the United States to main- 
tain the independence of Cuba, and to protect the people 
thereof, as well as for its own defence, the Government of 
Cuba will sell or lease to the United States lands necessary 
for coaling or naval stations, at certain specified points, 
to be agreed upon with the President of the United States. 

Art. VIII. That, by way of further assurance, the 
Government of Cuba will embody the foregoing provi- 
sions in a permanent treaty with the United States. 

Hall of sessions, June twelfth, nineteen hundred and 
one. 


CHAPTER XIII 


AFTER the Constitution, the Government. On Octo- 
ber 14, 1901, General Wood as Military Governor of 


Cuba issued an order for the holding of a general election , 


throughout the island on December 31, that day to be a 
legal holiday. At that election there were to be chosen 
Presidential and Senatorial Electors, Members of the 
House of Representatives, Governors of Provinces or 
Departments, and members of Provincial Assemblies or 
Councils. At the same time it was announced that the 
election of President, Vice-President and Senators, by the 
electoral colleges, would take place on February 24, 1902. 
A provisional election law was also promulgated at that 
time. 

This order brought acutely to the fore the question of 
Presidential candidates. ‘There were several of them, 
but none of them could be regarded as a party candidate 
for the reason that there were then practically no parties. 
The three which had existed had gradually dissolved, 
merged into each other, and left the Cuban people free 
to follow purely individual leaders again. 

Maximo Gomez was naturally looked to as the fore- 
most candidate for the Presidency, and despite the bitter- 
ness of some politicians against him there is little doubt 
that if he had consented to be a candidate he would have 
stood alone and been elected practically without opposi- 
tion. No man deserved the honor more than he. But 
it was more than an honor. It was a tremendously seri- 


ous responsibility. Now Gomez was not the man to 
240 


— => 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 241 


shirk responsibility. But he was not a man, either, to 
accept it rashly.. He knew his own limitations. He 
knew, too, the requirements of the place. There was 
needed a scholar and statesman, rather than a “rough and 
ready” bushwhacking soldier. So he would not even con- 
sider the offer of the nomination. “I was never in- 
tended,”’ he said, “‘to become the President of any coun- 
try. I think too much of Cuba to become her President.” 

Calixto Garcia, who after the death of Antonio Maceo 
stood second to Gomez as a commander, and who was 
General-in-Chief of the eastern half of the island, had 
won a splendid reputation for efficient work in Oriente 
and Camaguey, and was a man of great force and abil- 
ity, and of much popularity among the Cuban people. 
But he died at Washington of pneumonia soon after the 
close of the war. 

With these two great chieftains of Cuba’s wars thus out 
of the running, the choice by common consent fell upon 
Tomas Estrada Palma; and a better choice could not 
have been made. We have already seen something of 
his work as the head of the Cuban Junta in New York. 
He was now past the prime of life, having been born at 
Bayamo in 1837, but he was in full mastery of his ripe 
intellectual and physical powers. The son of a rich and 
distinguished family, he was sent in his youth to Seville to 
study law, and for a time practised it with much success 
in Cuba. But he was a patriot, and when the Ten Years’ 
War began he entered the Cuban ranks and had a distin- 
guished career in the field, as also in the councils of the 
Republic in the field. Unfortunately he was captured by 
the enemy and was sent to Spain, where he was a prisoner 
until the end of the war. Then he went to Honduras, be- 
came Postmaster-General of that country, and married 
the accomplished daughter of President Guardiola. 


242 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Thence he went to the United States and for some years 
was the head of an admirable private school for boys at 
Central Valley, New York; most of his pupils being 
from Cuba and other Latin-American countries. 

At the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1895 
the veteran patriot promptly offered himself for any serv- 
ice that he could perform. Though nearing the age of 
three score, he would gladly have taken up his rifle again 
and gone into the field. But there was more important 
and more profitable work for Cuba to be done than that 
would have been, and he entered upon it with zeal, as the 
head of the Cuban Junta in New York. Especially after 
the death of Marti, he was the guiding spirit of that or- 
ganization, and as such, at least in the eyes of America 
and of the world at large, he was the actual head of the 
Cuban revolution, even more than the President of the 
Provisional Government in the patriot stronghold in the 
mountains of Cubitas. He was not merely the very active 
head of the working organization of the Junta, which 
supplied the Cuban army with the sinews of war, but he 
was the diplomatic representative of Cuba, though only 
informally recognized, at Washington. He was at this 
time still in the United States, and was making no effort 
whatever to secure the Presidential nomination. Doubt- 
less he would have been quite content not to receive it, 
and would have given his heartiest and most efficient sup- 
port to any other man who might have been chosen. But 
there was a spontaneous turning of all Cuban eyes and 
minds and hearts toward him as the man of all best fitted 
to inaugurate the independent republican sovereignty of 
the insular state as its first President. He was the choice 
of no party—parties were yet inchoate—but of the Cuban 
people. 

In similar fashion General Bartolome Maso was put 


a 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 243 


forward for Vice-President. Of him we have already 
heard much in these pages; a stern old warrior patriot of 
Oriente, who had done inestimable service in the field in 
the two wars, and who had been President of the Revolu- 
tionary Government—its last President, in the mountains 
of Cubitas, at the time of the American intervention. A 
man of fine education, of unblemished integrity, of ster- 
ling patriotism, he commanded the respect and affection 
of all who knew him; though it must be confessed that he 
was personally little known at the capital or in the west- 
ern half of the island. 

For a time there seemed every prospect that these two 
men, so admirably chosen, would be elected without con- 
test. But at the end of October there was a schism. Es- 
trada Palma was favorably inclined toward the Platt 
Amendment, while Bartolome Maso remained outspoken 
against it. The sequel was that all the politicians of 
whatever factions who were opposed to that instrument 
joined in putting Maso forward as a candidate not for 
the Vice-Presidency but for the Presidency, in opposition 
to Palma. On October 31 Maso issued an address an- 
nouncing his candidacy, which, he said, he had been in- 
duced to accept ‘‘in order to preserve the nationalism and 
patriotism of the country’; and he added that the Ameri- 
can intervention had been “perverted into a military occu- 
pation approaching a conquest.” This was exaggera- 
tion, though entirely sincere; Maso lacking the broad in- 
ternational vision necessary to appreciate the relation- 
ships with the United States and the rest of the world upon 
which Cuba was about to enter. But it made a strong 
appeal to a number of diverse and incongruous elements, 
including some of the former Autonomists, many of the 
Spaniards, and a number of Negroes who were inclined 
to form a race party of their own. 


244 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


There followed an animated but orderly and amicable 
campaign of mass meetings and stump speeches, quite 
after the American style. At one time the followers of 
Maso appeared to be numerous, and claimed that they 
were sixty per cent. of the citizens of Cuba. But such 
claims were illusory. Nearly all important leaders, from 
Maximo Gomez down, were on the side of Estrada Palma, 
and before the actual trial of strength at the polls Maso 
withdrew from the campaign, leaving Palma alone in the 
field. The supporters of Maso explained that his candi- 
dacy was withdrawn because there was no prospect of a 
fair election. They objected to some provisions of the 
election law, and complained that they were not fairly 
represented on the boards of registration and election. 
They even alleged that frauds were being committed in 
the registration, and they asked that the election be post- 
poned in order that there might be another registration 
over which they should have a larger measure of supervi- 
sion. ‘This request was refused, whereupon they with- 
drew from all participation in the election. A manifesto 
was issued, denouncing the Central Board of Elections 
as “a coalition of partisans” and declaring that “neither 
in official circles in the United States nor in Cuba does 
the intention exist to see that the elections are carried out 
with sufficient legality to reflect the real wishes of the 
Cubans.” These imputations were unwarranted, and 
most regrettable; and were rightly regarded by the great 
majority of Cubans as a practical confession of the weak- 
ness of the Maso faction. 

The elections were duly held on the day appointed, 
and were conducted with admirable quiet, order and dig- 
nity. The unfortunate feature of them was that only a 
very light vote was polled. Not only did the supporters 
of Maso pretty generally abstain from voting, but many 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 245 


of Palma’s followers, knowing that there was no real 
contest, did not take the trouble to go to the polls. Com- 
menting upon the circumstances, General Wood reported: 
“T regret to state that a large portion of the conservative 
element, composed of property owners, and business and 
professional men, did not take such an interest in the elec- 
tions as proper regard for the welfare of their country 
required, and consequently the representation of this 
element among the officials elected has not been propor- 
tionately as large as the best interests of the island de- 
mand.” Despite the abstention of Maso’s followers from 
voting, eight members of that faction were elected in the 
sixty-three members of the Electoral College. On Feb- 
tuary 24 the Electoral College met and elected Tomas 
Estrada Palma to be President and Luis Estevez to be 
Vice-President of the Republic of Cuba. 

President Roosevelt, in a message to the Congress of 
the United States on March 27, reported the progress of 
Cuba toward self-government, and recommended that pro- 
vision be made for sending diplomatic and consular 
representatives thither, and the Secretary of War began 
preparations for withdrawing the Military Governor and 
all American officials and forces, and permitting the in- 
stallation of the native government. It was arranged 
that the last-named event should occur on May 20, 1902, 
four years and a month after the American act of inter- 
vention. 

The closing weeks of the American occupation were 
made busy with the closing up of affairs preparatory to 
departure. Two new laws relating to railroads were 
promulgated on February 7 and March 3; laws which the 
Cubans on assuming the government of the island found 
so beneficent that they retained them unchanged. An- 
other law on January 24 rearranged the municipalities 


246 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


of the island and abolished a considerable number of 
them, and still another on March 5 was intended to facili- 
tate the determination of boundaries of estates. Still 
another, on April 12, was so vigorously opposed by 
Cubans that it was presently revoked, to the great loss 
of theisland. This was practically an application of the 
merit system to a part of the civil service, declaring that 
officials in the judicial and public prosecution services 
should not be removed from their places without proof of 
adequate cause. Its revocation left those and all 
branches of the civil service to be the prey of the spoils 
system. 

In April and May there were promulgated orders for 
systematizing municipal finances, a manual for military 
tribunals, quarantine regulations, rules for the revenue 
cutter service, immigration laws, sanitary regulations, and 
some modifications of the Code of Civil Procedure. 
These were all practical measures, of undoubted benefit 
to the island, and all dealt with matters in which Ameri- 
can experience was reasonably supposed to be of advan- 
tage to Cuba. 

General Wood on May 5 called the elected members of 
the Cuban Congress together at the Palace, in the name 
of the President of the United States, to welcome them and 
to wish them success in their coming work, and to have 
them examine and pass upon their own credentials and 
count and rectify the vote of the Electoral College for 
President and Vice-President. He also announced to 
them that the formal transfer of government, from the 
United States military authorities to the Cuban President 
and Congress, would take place at noon of May 20. 
Mendez Capote made a graceful and appreciative reply 
on behalf of himself and his colleagues, and the two 
Houses took possession of their respective halls and busied 


rein 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 247 


themselves with their credentials and with preparations 
for the serious work which lay just a little distance before 
them. 

Meantime Tomas Estrada Palma was closing up his 
affairs in the land of which he had been a guest for many 
years and was preparing to return to the land of his birth 


=> 


Wf ay, 


SCENE IN VILLALON PARK, HAVANA 


to be its chief magistrate. He did not leave the United 
States until late in April. Instead of going directly to 
Havana he landed at Gibara, on the northern coast of 
Oriente, whence he went to Holguin, to Santiago, and then 
to his old home, which also was destined to be his last, at 
Bayamo. After a few days’ visit there he proceeded to 
Havana, and arrived in that cityon May11. All the way 
through the island he was greeted with unbounded en- 


248 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


thusiasm, and at every stopping place he was received and 
entertained with all possible social attention. 

Havana itself for a week preceding the installation of 
the government gave itself up to one incessant fiesta. 
Arches spanned the principal streets, flowers and bunting 
made the day brilliant with color, and fireworks illumined 
the night. The night of May 19 was such as the ancient 
city had never before known. From evening to morning 
it was one glare of rockets and illuminations, one roar of 
anticipatory and jubilant cheers and music. If one single 
inhabitant of the city slept, his name is not recorded. 
The riot of joy continued unabated until just before noon, 
when it slackened for a time, only as a mark of respect 
for the epochal ceremony which was being performed 
in the great State Hall of the Palace. 

There, in the very place where less than four years be- 
fore General Castellanos had abdicated the power of 
Spain over the last of her American colonies, were gath- 
ered the members of the American Government of Inter- 
vention, about to retire; the members of the Cuban Gov- 
ernment, about to assume authority; the representatives of 
various foreign powers; and a few private guests of dis- 
tinction. The central figures were Leonard Wood and 
Tomas Estrada Palma. The former read a brief note 
from President Roosevelt, announcing the transfer which 
was about to be made, and expressing to the Cuban gov- 
ernment the sincere friendship and good wishes of the 
United States, the most earnest hopes for the stability and 
success of the Cuban government, for the blessings of 
peace, justice and prosperity and ordered freedom among 
the people of Cuba and for enduring friendship between 
the United States and that Republic. 

General Wood then addressed the Cuban President 
and Congress, declaring that he transferred to them the 


sap odt on 3 alee 
HN 


bap loose 
s,9i6t2 10 


; Bey ‘or 


IBA 
vas received and 
stion 
stion of 
essant festa. 
nd bunting 
Numined 
TOMAS ESTRADA’ PALMA® ‘°° snclent 


“The Franklin of Cuba,” Tomas Estrada Palma, ‘was born at 
Bayamo on July 9, 1835, was educated in’ Havana’ and ‘at the 
University of Seville, Spain, and began the practice of:law at-his 
native place. But realizing that under PPanieiby ta _ there was 
little administration of real justice in ene e abandoned his 
profession, devoted himself to the ‘dating saat RO PRAion, 
and when the Ten Years’ War was planned) entkobiiee patriotic 
conspiracy, with zeal. He freed his slaves, gave hi fortune to to the 
cause, and entered the army. His mother accom Seam tied im to 
the camp, and in his absence was captured by the Spaniards, who 
murdered her through starvation and ill-treatment. He became 
Secretary of the Republic and in March, 1876, was elected Presi- 
dent. Betrayed to the enemy, he was imprisoned in Morro Castle, 
Havana, and afterward in Spain. At the end of the war-he went 
to Honduras, taught school and served as Postmaster-General, and 
then went to New York State, where he tablishies 80° ORO _for 
boys. At the beginning of the War of Indepen h in 
gave himself to the Cuban cause, succeeded Marti it ad of 
the Junta in New York, became first President of: the Republic, 
was forced to resign through a traitorous. insurrection) and, ill- 
planned intervention, and died on November 4, 1908. 


irief note 
2nsfer which 

e Cuban gov- 

vishes. of ‘the 

st ibility and 

blessings of 

r eden among 


> teeneen 


i haves 
' % ‘ y r bi . ri 
», ‘ ) a 
‘ - 
a 2 ¢ 
oe * . “ 7 
; re ; = 
. : 
e 3 
- 
* A G = 
= 5 : . 
rey ‘ 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 249 


government and control of the island, and that the Amer- 
ican military occupation was ended. He reported the 
amount of public funds which he turned over to the new 
officials, and called attention to various plans for sewer- 
ing, paving and other sanitary works which were in 
course of execution. President Palma responded, ac- 
cepting the transfer of sovereignty, and expressing his 
and his countrymen’s appreciation of the course which 
the American government had pursued. 

Thus the transcendent consummation was achieved, for 
which during so many weary and tragic years so many 
Cuban patriots had longed and for which so much treas- 
ure had been spent, so much blood had been shed, and so 
many lives had been sacrificed. “Cuba Libre” was an 
accomplished fact among the nations of the world. 

Leaving that memorable scene, General Wood tele- 
graphed to the President of the United States: 

“T have the honor to report that, in compliance with 
instructions received, I have this day, at 12 o’clock sharp, 
transferred to the President and Congress of the Republic 
of Cuba the government and control of the island, to be 
held and exercised by them under the provisions of the 
Constitution of the Republic of Cuba.” 

One other incident remained. As soon as the brief 
ceremony with the palace was completed, the American 
flag was hauled down from that and all other public 
buildings and the Cuban flag was raised in its place. It 
is not known whether the American Senator who had pre- 
dicted that ‘“That Flag will never be hauled down!” was 
there to see the sight. Certain it is that the people of 
Cuba were almost—and most pardonably—wild with 
joy to see their own beautiful emblem at last float in token 
of sovereignty over their island’s capital. The Cuban 
flag flying over the Palace and over the Morro Castle was 


250 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the supreme consummation of their patriotic dreams and 
visions. 

The red, white and blue flag of Cuba, though then first 
raised in unchallenged sovereignty, was then by no means 
a new thing. It was already more than half a century 


FLAG OF CUBA 


old, and had been the guidon of brave men in three bloody 
wars. It was designed by the first great Cuban revolu- 
tionist, Narciso Lopez, and by his comrade, Miguel 
Teurbe Tolon, of Matanzas, a gifted poet and ardent 
patriot, and it was first displayed by Lopez in his raid 
upon and capture of the city of Cardenas, on May 19, 
1850. The five bars, alternately blue and white, repre- 
sented the five provinces into which the island was at that 
time divided; the red triangle represented the blood of 
patriots which was being shed in the cause of liberty; and 
the white star was the star of Cuba’s hope. After the 
death of Lopez the flag disappeared. But when the Ten 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 251 


Years’ War began many flags of that same design were 
made, the workroom being in a house on Warren Street 
in the City of New York, and thereafter it remained 
familiar to every Cuban patriot. 

The coat of arms of the Republic of Cuba displays the 
colors of the flag, and by their side the Royal Palm, per- 
haps the most notable of the trees in Cuba. The tree 
springs from a grassy plain, at the back of which is a 


mountain range; agriculture and mining being thus typi- 
fied. Across the top of the shield extends a landscape- 
seascape, representing the ocean, with Florida at one 
side and Yucatan at the other, while between them lies 
the Key, Cuba. From the far horizon rises the sun. 
Above all is the Cap of Liberty, while around the shield 
are twined branches of oak and laurel. 

No more just and fitting estimate of the great work of 
intervention which thus, on May 20, 1902, was consum- 
mated, has ever been made than that which was uttered 
only a few weeks later by President Roosevelt, in speak- 
ing before a distinguished audience at Harvard Univer- 
sity. He said: 

“Four years ago Leonard Wood went down to Cuba, 


252 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


has served there ever since, has rendered her literally in- 
valuable service; a man who through these four years 
thought of nothing else, did nothing else, save to try to 
bring up the standard of political and social life in that 
island, to clean it physically and morally, to make justice 
even and fair in it, to found a school system which should 
be akin to our own, to teach the people after four cen- 
turies of misrule that there were such things as govern- 
ment righteousness and honesty and fair play for all men 
on their merits as men.” 

That was the work which Leonard Wood did in Cuba; 
that was the work which the United States government 
did by and through him; the consummation of which was 
denoted in that unique act of withdrawing the American 
flag and raising the Cuban flag in its place. Fortunate 
was it, however, that the results of that work, the teach- 
ings of the American occupation, the meaning of the 
American flag, were not and could not be withdrawn 
when the Stars and Stripes came down. Just as the 
colors and indeed the essential pattern of the flag re- 
mained, in different arrangement, so the essential spirit 
of American republicanism remained, to be manifested 
not any longer by American interveners but by the 
Cuban people themselves. 

It was a marvellous achievement, that of those four 
years. It was such as the world had not seen equalled, 
at any other time or in any other place. It was cred- 
itable in the highest degree to the Cuban people them- 
selves. It was creditable to the United States, for its 
intervention at its own great cost and for its scrupulous 
keeping of its faith. It was creditable to many individ- 
ual actors in the great drama, both insular and con- 
tinental, who displayed unsurpassed fidelity, self-sacri- 
fice and heroism in the cause of Cuban liberation. But 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 253 


the simple truth and justice of history would be impaired 
if the chief credit were not given, primus inter pares, to 
the great American administrator, conquering soldier 
and constructive statesman, who from first to last was 
the guiding genius of Cuban rehabilitation. 

The works of Durham in Canada, and of Cromer in 
Egypt, form splendid passages in the history of benev- 
olent colonial administration. But there was a more dif- 
ficult work performed not for a dependent colony which 
would return compensation to the Mother Country or to 
the suzerain power but for an alien land and people, 
presently to become entirely independent of their bene- 
factor. He found the Pearl of the Antilles war-rav- 
aged and faction-rent; her fields desolated, her indus- 
tries destroyed; her women widowed and her children 
orphaned; her treasury empty and her debts heavy and 
pressing; her government abolished and her laws inade- 
quate; with famine, pestilence and hopelessness stalking 
throughout the land. It was his work to heal the wounds 
of war and to unite the people of all classes and parties 
for the common good; to assist the revival of agriculture 
and the rebuilding of industry; to care for the widowed 
and the orphaned; to replenish the public treasury and 
to discharge the debt of honor to the veterans of the War 
of Independence; to organize efficient government and 
out of his own constructive genius to conceive and to 
promulgate needed and beneficent laws; to feed the 
hungry until they could feed themselves, to banish pes- 
_ tilence until a lazar-house became a health resort, and 
to inspire with hope and faith triumphant a people who 
for a generation had striven with the demons of despair. 

With such a labor successfully achieved, through the 
exercise of a tact, a perseverance, a resourcefulness and 
an administrative genius not surpassed in his day and 


254 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


generation, we may not wonder that he was universally 
beloved by all the Cuban people regardless of class, of 
previous condition or of political predilections; that the 
only cloud resting upon the brilliance of the consumma- 
tion of Cuban independence proceeded from the fact of 
his departure from the island and the people he had so 
greatly served; and that, not waiting for the slow tributes 
of remote posterity, the Cuban people of his own day hold 
in their supremest confidence, gratitude, respect and en- 
during affection the name, the memory and the vital per- 
sonality of Leonard Wood. 

President Palma had already selected the members of 
his Cabinet on May 17, three days before the transfer. 
It contained six members, chosen without regard to 
party, for the President was not a partisan. As a mat- 
ter of fact, however, it contained representatives of all 
three of the old parties, which were at this time in course 
of dissolution and reorganization into the two which 
have since divided the Cuban people between them. 
Diego Tamayo was the Secretary of Government, hay- 
ing charge of the postal service, the signal service, sani- 
tation, and the Rural Guard. Carlos Zaldo was Secre- 
tary of State and of Justice. Emilio Terry was 
Secretary of Agriculture. Manual Luciano Diaz was 
Secretary of Public Works; Eduardo Yero was Secretary 
of Public Instruction; and Garcia Montes was Secretary 
of Finance. 

The President presented his first message to Con- 
gress on May 28. He spoke with gratitude of the dis- 
interested intervention and services of the United States, 
and with confidence of Cuba’s ability to fulfil her duties 
as a sovereign State. He recommended care in the prep- 
aration of the budget, and the formulation of measures 
for the encouragement of cattle-raising and the growing 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 255 


of sugar and tobacco. Just then, owing to the great in- 
crease of European beet sugar growing the Cuban sugar 
trade was in an unsatisfactory state, but he hoped to 
improve it by securing a reciprocity treaty with the United 
States which would admit Cuban sugar to the markets of 
that country free of tariff duty. He also promised to 
promote the building of much-needed railroads. He 
urged the cultivation of cordial relations and commer- 
cial intercourse with all nations, but especially with the 
United States. As a special act of grace, a number of 
Americans who had justly been sentenced to terms in 
Cuban prisons under the Government of Intervention 
received pardons. These included three men, Rathbone, 
Neely and Reeves, who had been sentenced for ten years 
for frauds in the Cuban postoffice, the only serious scan- 
dal of the American administration. 

Two of the items in the Platt Amendment were soon 
taken up by the United States government, and were 
settled in a way eminently satisfactory to Cuba. One 
was the disposition of the Isle of Pines. It was decided 
by the State Department at Washington that when the 
American government was withdrawn from Cuba, con- 
trol of the Isle of Pines was transferred to the Cuban 
government, to be held and exercised by it unless and 
until some other disposition should subsequently be ef- 
fected. In time Cuban ownership of the isle was defi- 
nitively confirmed by the government of the United 
States. 

The other point was that of American naval stations. 
A report was made by Rear-Admiral Bradford of the 
United States Navy, recommending the establishment of 
naval stations at Triscornia, in Havana Harbor; and at 
Guantanamo, east of Santiago; and the establishment 
of coaling stations at Nipe Bay and Cienfuegos. The 


256 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Cubans were not inclined to object to any of these ex- 
cepting the first-named, to which their objection was 
reasonable and convincing. It would not be agreeable, 
they thought, to have the flag of a foreign power flying 
right in front of their own capital and at the very gate 
of the harbor of that capital, so that foreign vessels 
would pass by it and salute it equally with the Cuban 
flag. This objection was recognized and respected by 
the United States government, which waived all claim 
to Triscornia, and on July 2, 1903, contented itself with 
land for naval stations at Guantanamo, one of the finest 
harbors in the world, on the south coast of Oriente, and 
Bahia Honda, another superb harbor, on the north coast 
of Pinar del Rio. Of these only Guantanamo has ac- 
tually been utilized. 

The matter of reciprocity between the United States 
and Cuba was taken up, but it was long before anything 
was effected. General Wood had urged that a reduction 
of at least 33 1/3 per cent. should be made in the sugar 
duty in favor of Cuba, as absolutely essential to the 
prosperity of the island, and President Roosevelt urged 
upon Congress in the strongest possible manner the de- 
sirability of some such action, partly for the sake of 
Cuban prosperity, and partly for the fulfilment of Amer- 
ica’s moral duty toward that island. Indeed, such com- 
mercial relations had been promised to Cuba, and it was 
bad faith to withhold them. Of course the commercial 
interests of Europe, both in sugar and all other wares, 
were earnestly opposed to any such arrangement, and 
they had their governments exert all possible influence 
to prevent its being made. ‘There were also large beet 
sugar interests in the United States which strenuously op- 
posed any reduction of the tariff on Cuban sugar. Pres- 
ident Roosevelt had a long and desperate battle with 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 257 


Congress over the matter, before he finally prevailed 
upon it grudgingly and imperfectly to make a reciprocity 
agreement, from which the United States would profit 
much more than Cuba. This was on March 29, 1903. 
Meantime, because of the American refusal to grant 
reciprocity, Cuba suffered acute economic depression ap- 
proximating disaster. The insular treasury had scarcely 
enough money with which to pay current expenses, and 
the government was driven to the imposition of burden- 
some taxes upon many articles to save itself from bank- 
ruptcy. 

The reciprocity treaty was finally ratified by the Amer- 
ican Senate on March 29, 1903. But it did not at once 
go into effect. There was needed Congressional legis- 
lation to make it effective, and this was not supplied. 
After discreditable delay on the part of the lawmakers, 
President Roosevelt called Congress together in special 
session on November 10, 1903, for the express purpose 
of having it take the needed action for putting the treaty 
into operation. “I deem,” he said, “‘such legislation de- 
manded not only by our interest but by our honor. . . 
When the acceptance of the Platt Amendment was re- 
quired from Cuba by the action of the Congress of the 
United States, this government thereby definitely com- 
mitted itself to the policy of treating Cuba as occupying 
a unique position as regards this country. It was pro- 
vided that when the island became a free and independ- 
ent republic she should stand in such close relations 
with us as in certain respects to come within our system 
of international policy; and it necessarily followed that 
she must also to a certain degree become included within 
the lines of our economic policy. . . . We gave her lib- 
erty. We are knit to her by the memories of the blood 
and courage of our soldiers who fought for her in war; 


258 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


by the memory of the wisdom and integrity of our ad- 
ministrators who served her in peace and who started 
her so well on the difficult path of self-government. We 
must help her onward and upward; and in helping her 
we shall help ourselves. . . . A failure to enact such leg- 
islation would come perilously near a repudiation of the 
pledged faith of the nation.” 

Thus at last through such gallant urging a measure of 
justice was secured for Cuba. ‘The unwillingness and 
delay of Congress formed the most discreditable chapter 
of the history of America’s dealings with Cuba. But the 
real attitude, the real purpose, the real spirit of the 
United States toward Cuba, were unmistakably set forth 
not in the paltering and tergiversation of a sordid Con- 
gress, but in the lofty and inspiring words of the great 
American President. 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE result of the earnest and efficient work of all de- 
partments of the Palma administration, in spite of the 
fact that the employes had much to learn, and that mis- 
takes were unavoidably made, was that Cuba began al- 
most immediately to establish herself as a nation worthy 
of consideration, and respected among the other nations 
of the world. Her commerce and industries were started 
for the first time on a stable basis, and the general feel- 
ing of confidence, not only in the natural resources of the 
island, but in the protection that had been promised 
Cuba by her sister republic on the north, all tended to 
start the new republic along the right lines. In a very 
short time after reciprocity with the United States was 
secured funds began to accumulate in the treasury, and 
by the end of the first Palma administration over $20,- 
000,000 had accrued to the credit of the country, and a 
large amount of constructive work had been undertaken 
in various parts of the island. Yet more than $4,000,- 
000 had been spent on public works, and every village 
with 25 children had a school. 

It was the accumulation of this money in the treas- 
ury, and the rapid success along commercial and other 
lines that seemed to attend the republic during President 
Palma’s administration, that served to excite desire and 
envy among the more or less restless and unscrupulous 
elements, who did not form a part of the Palma govern- 
ment. Some of these outsiders were men of much ability, 
and many of them were excellent orators. All of them 

259 


260 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


were familiar with the methods in Latin American re- 
publics of securing control of the government through 
revolution, force and violence. It was then that parties 
began to be formed, although these were divided into 
many groups, each surrounding its own political hero, 
who, in these days, was necessarily a man with a sup- 
posed military record. ‘They eventually resolved them- 
selves into two groups, the Moderado, who were in many 
respects the parents of the present Conservative party 
now in power under President Menocal, and the Liberal, 
under the leadership of Dr. Alfredo Zayas, an able law- 
yer and a shrewd political leader. 

During the Palma administration and especially at the 
beginning of the electoral campaign of 1905, another 
aspirant for presidential honors suddenly appeared in 
the person of General José Miguel Gomez, a man with 
no very brilliant record as a soldier, although he had 
taken part in the Ten Years’ War, but who had a strong 
local following as Governor, under President Palma, of 
the Province of Santa Clara. General Gomez was an 
astute, clever, farseeing, active politician, with a consid- 
erable degree of originality and ability. Another man 
intimately connected with the history of Cuba was Go- 
mez’s chief clerk when Governor of the Province of 
Santa Clara, Orestes Ferrara, a gentleman of Italian 
birth, of somewhat reckless tendencies, who emerged from 
the War of Independence as a Cuban patriot, and was 
recognized as such by the Liberal party. Mr. Ferrara 
was a lawyer, a writer, a finely educated diplomat and 
an excellent speaker. All of these qualities succeeded 
in making him an important factor in influencing the 
destinies of the republic in its early days. 

During the first years of the Palma administration, 
the Moderado and Liberal parties gradually shaped 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 261 


themselves into the present Conservative and Liberal par- 
ties; organizations which differ in political methods 
rather than in principles; if by principles we mean funda- 
mental doctrines of political economy or statecraft, such 
as form the issues of division between parties in most 
other countries. They also differ largely in personnel. 
Throughout the agricultural regions the Conservatives 
prevail. That is because farmers, large and small, care 
little for office holding but do care a great deal for that 
tranquillity of the country which is essential to progress 
and prosperity. They have a material stake in the coun- 
try’s welfare, which is conserved by constitutional order 
rather than by revolution. On the other hand, in the 
cities may be found the great strength of the Liberal 
party; composed of men who own no real estate, and 
many of whom have no business or steady occupation 
of any kind, who have nothing to lose from economic and 
social disturbance but on the contrary may gain some- 
thing by getting into public employment through a change 
of government. Such men are numerous in all cities of 
all countries, and they become the facile followers of 
designing and unscrupulous politicians. In the United 
States such men are described as “feeding at the public 
crib.” In Cuba the corresponding phrase, equally ex- 
pressive, is “nursing at the public bottle’—epitomised in 
the one word, “‘botella.”’ 

It is not to be inferred that all Cuban Liberals are of 
this class, or that Conservatives are universally men of 
substance; but the dominant elements of the two par- 
ties are such as we have described. ‘The restless and 
irresponsible Liberal masses have for leaders men of 
unquestioned ability, but unfortunately too often of more 
personal ambition of a sordid kind than sense of moral 
responsibility or sincere devotion to their country’s best 


262 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


interests. It will thus be seen that on more than one 
occasion men who were intellectually qualified to serve 
the Republic in the most efficient manner prostituted their 
talents to catering to the passions of the ignorant and 
idle, and made tools of them for their own selfish ad- 
vancement, to the great detriment and greater menace 
of the Republic. In this deplorable state of affairs have 
been the main springs of most of the troubles which the 
young Republic has thus far suffered in its political and 
governmental affairs. 

The Conservative party is confined very largely to 
the owners of property, men of good reputation and busi- 
ness standing. In other words, it consists of men who 
have nothing to gain through a revolution, and every- 
thing to lose during a period of upheaval which means 
destruction, not alone of actual property, but of the 
assets of the country, especially its credit and standing 
in the markets of the world. Small holders of property 
in the country districts, farmers, merchants, planters and 
stock raisers, are naturally allied with the Conservative 
party, or the party of law and order, as are the owners 
of the big sugar estates and the mills in which the staples 
are produced, since the cane fields become an immediate 
prey of those elements who wish to depose the govern- 
ment or bring about an intervention, through which they 
sometimes gain in the confusion that follows a change 
of government. To this party belong the majority of 
the professional men, the old Autonomistas, and those 
men who have a genuine interest in the welfare of Cuba, 
not only in her present, but in her future, and who real- 
ize that uprisings, strikes and all allied movements tend 
naturally to discourage investments in property, and to 
destroy credit and the good name of the island. 

Such, then, in general terms, was the development of 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 263 


political parties in Cuba which occurred as soon as it 
was realized that it was worth while to have them. As 
long as Cuba was under Spanish domination, there was 
no use in parties. So long as there was doubt concern- 
ing the intentions of the United States in Cuba, there was 
little encouragement to their formation. But the moment 
the Stars and Stripes actually went down from the Pal- 
ace and from the Morro, the great fact dawned upon 
the Cuban mind that what many had scarcely dared to 
expect or to hope for was actually achieved. Cuba was 
independent. For that reason her political controversies 
were thereafter to be domestic, and there was opportunity, 
even perhaps desirability, of division of the population 
into parties. 

This indeed was well, in principle. There is nothing 
more stimulating to citizenship or more conducive to 
good government in a republic than a healthful and 
amicable division of the citizens into parties, on grounds 
of principle. In a monarchy, the opposition party is 
one of protest and revolt. In a republic both parties are 
devoted to the governmental system, and differ only as 
to the principles of economics or what not on which it 
should be conducted. The lamentable feature of the 
Cuban case was that—chiefly, no doubt, because of ante- 
cedent conditions, because of centuries of ruthless repres- 
sion of all national or civic aspirations—there had been 
no development of theories and principles of government 
to serve as bases for party division. It could not be said, 
for example, that this party was for a protective tariff 
and that one was for free trade, that one was for state 
rights and the other for national sovereignty. Such dis- 
tinctions did not exist, and party divisions without them 
were therefore on less creditable lines. We have said 
that there were no questions of principle. But there 


264 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


was one supreme question of principle, on which after 
all the division was made. But that was a question to 
which there was only one side for a worthy political party 
to take. 

At the beginning of Estrada Palma’s administration, 
as we have indicated, he was not identified with any 
political party. He was broad-minded, and conceived 
himself to be not the leader of a party but the chief 
executive of the whole Cuban nation. He selected for his 
Cabinet the men whom he thought best fitted for the 
places, regardless of their political affiliations. He 
would probably have been glad to go through his entire 
administration as a non-partisan President, occupying 
in that respect a position similar to that of a constitutional 
sovereign, who traditionally “has no politics.” Indeed, 
he maintained this independent and impartial attitude 
until the spring of 1905. Then he found it impossible to 
get measures passed by Congress, which he wanted and 
which the country needed, unless he affiliated with party 
leaders. The result was that he practically associated 
himself with the Moderados, or Conservatives as they are 
now known. ‘This of course gave great umbrage to the 
Liberals, which was greatly increased when some of that 
party were removed from office because of their unsat- 
isfactory service and their places were filled with Con- 
servatives. And this was the beginning of the Liberal 
insurrection which led to the resignation and death of 
Estrada Palma. 

In the last days of President Palma’s first term of office 
it was discovered that José Miguel Gomez had Presi- 
dential aspirations. He not only stated to the Moderate 
or Conservative party that he wanted to be President of 
the Republic of Cuba, but he declared that he proposed 
to succeed President Palma as such. This privilege was 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 265 


refused him on the ground that the President, owing to 
his fair administration of the government during the 
four years of his service, was entitled to a second term. 
To this argument, General Gomez replied that if the Con- 
servative party to which he had pretended>to belong 
would not make him its Presidential nominee, he would 
go to the opposition and seek the nomination. This he 
at once proceeded to do, and with the assistance of Mr. 
Ferrara he persuaded the Liberals that, controlling the 
votes of the Province of Santa Clara, he held the balance 
of power. He also prevailed upon Dr. Alfredo Zayas 
to retire as a Presidential candidate, and to acquiesce 
in his running for election on the Liberal ticket; prom- 
ising at the same time that, no matter what the result of | 
the election might be, Dr. Zayas should have the nom- 
ination and his support four years afterward. It is in- 
teresting to observe that this promise was never fully 
kept, and that the two Liberal leaders have ever since 
been bitter enemies. 

The Presidential nominees of the two parties, in No- 
vember, 1906, on the part of the Conservatives, were 
Estrada Palma, the President of Cuba, and on the part 
of the Liberals, José Miguel Gomez, ex-leader of the 
Moderados of the Province of Santa Clara. The Lib- 
erals, a few days before the election, feeling apparently 
that it would go against them, began the old tactics so 
prevalent in some South American republics, and prac- 
tised by Maso’s followers in 1901, of proclaiming pro- 
posed election frauds on the part of their opponents, then 
in control of the government, and predicting all manner 
of illegal practices and intimidation. 

At ten o’clock on the morning of election day, tele- 
grams, announcements, and orders from Liberal leaders 
were posted at all voting places in the various cities and 


266 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


country districts, directing members of that party to keep 
away from the polls, on the ground that the election 
frauds which had been arranged by the Conservatives 
could not possibly be overcome, and that the correct 
thing to do was to refuse to vote, as a protest against 
the government in power. These were obviously issued 
with a view of discrediting in advance an election which 
the Liberals could not hope to win. ‘The Conservatives, 
of course, voted, and, as might be expected under those 
circumstances, the Palma government succeeded itself, 
with a few changes in the Cabinet, and everything seemed 
to promise well for the future. 

Within a year, however, threats of coming trouble, 
whispers of discontent, and reports of incipient uprisings 
could be heard in the cafés and public resorts throughout 
the island, and the agents of the secret service warned 
President Palma that a serious crisis was impending. 
This the President refused to credit, stating that there 
could be no possible reason for a revolution.. The island 
was prosperous, work was plentiful for all who cared to 
labor; there were no conditions present to justify a rev- 
olution or uprising, and suspicions of anything of the 
kind must therefore be unjustified. In spite of President 
Palma’s confidence, however, the plotting went on almost 
openly. His confidence in the people was known to 
all the Liberals, and they took advantage of it. The 
first real outbreak occurred before the slightest prepara- 
tion had been made to deal with it. One night in the 
month of July, 1905, a group of thirty armed men sud- 
denly appeared at the barracks of the Rural Guards, shot 
a dozen of them to death as they lay sleeping on their 
cots, seized their arms, ammunition and horses, and fled 
into the country, shouting the cry of ‘Revolution against 
the Palma government!” General Alejandro Rodriguez, 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 267 


a tried veteran of the War of Independence, and chief 
of the Rural Guards, gave an immediate order that they 
should be captured, dead or alive, and before ten o’clock 
the next morning nearly all of them had been taken and 
confined in the jails of Havana, where afterwards they 
were tried and convicted. These men in their defense 
claimed that the president of the Senate, Sefor Moru 
Delgado, a prominent Liberal leader, had promised to 
meet them at daylight, on the morning of the assassina- 
tion, with a body of three hundred armed and mounted 
Liberals, who were to start a revolution against President 
Palma; but did not fulfill his promise. The men who 
had been convicted were permitted to remain in jail until, 
as is too often the custom in some Latin American coun- 
tries, they were freed by a general amnesty bill which 
had been forced through Congress by the Liberal party. 
The tendency to revolt against the Palma government 
apparently subsided with the arrest of these first dis- 
turbers, but, during the following January, 1906, re- 
ports of trouble in the extreme western portion of the 
island came to the notice of the officials. The leader 
was Pino Guerra, who, through his popularity as an ac- 
cordion player at country dances, had secured election 
to the House of Representatives; and who with his taste 
for games of chance, at which he was generally unlucky, 
had got into debt to the amount of $7,000. His credi- 
tors in these debts were persistent, and this fact was 
given by him in a letter to General Fernando Freyre de 
Andrade, President of the House of Representatives, as 
an excuse for the revolution which he started. Pino 
Guerra indeed intimated that if someone would extend 
to him a little personal loan of $7,000 he would refrain 
from causing any trouble to the government. General 
Freyre de Andrade, being a politician who believed in 


268 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


compromise and that even a poor end would justify the 
means, suggested to Guerra that he knew of $3,000 that 
had been appropriated for some purpose and not used, 
which might possibly be turned over, if his creditors 
would take it on account. “General” Guerra,.as he 
called himself, consulted with his creditors, and they 
concluded to accept the offer, if they could get the cash. 
So the embryo revolutionist was conducted to the pres- 
ence of the President, where the whole matter was ex- 
plained by General Freyre de Andrade. To their sur- 
prise, President Palma promptly refused to have any of 
the treasury funds used to buy—or to pay blackmail to— 
a revolutionist. So ‘‘General” Guerra retired to nurse 
his resentment and to plan mischief; until some six 
weeks later when he started the uprising that was locally 
known as “Mr. Taft’s picnic,” because the leaders as- 
serted that the capturing of the Palma government would 
be nothing more than a picnic, and assured Mr. Taft on 
his arrival to straighten out affairs that they really had 
not intended to assassinate President Palma, although 
three or four distinct plots had been made for that pur- 
pose; that they only meant to capture him, put him on 
the government yacht, and carry him to some remote part 
of the country and give him just a “pleasant picnic.” 
President Palma was repeatedly warned by the secret 
service, of which Pepe Jerez Varona was the chief, that 
serious trouble was coming through the propaganda of 
the Liberal party whose leaders had taken the position 
that the late election had been fraudulent and that the 
Liberals had been prevented from casting their votes, 
which they said was sufficient excuse for the uprising 
that was imminent. Local bands of the so-called ‘“‘Con- 
stitutional Army” soon began to make their appearance 
throughout the central districts of the island. Each of 


sleinage ott Yo omod bl 


Yeh 


& 
ere 
») 
Ls . 
< 
y@ 


RS 


gad shat 


aL 


£: ~~ = . 
ger is 


“ 


THE PRESIDENTS TOM D 


sedaste VWEUIILILY 2 


Guerm that baie 


tec for some purge 


‘ 


ce 
hi Tre? 

S poweeert ees 
ULMGELISS We 
gee os ae ee 
i, Where tik 


: 8 poor cue 


be turned over, fh 
vant “General” . 


A to bu’ —OT TG pay t ; 


PCE T Une 


The new Presidential Palace, which replaces in it 


7 
nten 


old home of the Spanish Governors, is o 

_ impressive size, affording ample room 
than the mere housing of the President a 
completeness of its appointments and beaut 
internal decorations must rank among 1 the 
in the world. 


m for i 


aie . A ees - 
nt to capure 


- . 
ry re 
_ 
breji} 
be! TOUER 


: 7 hea 
ienders NAG 


ad bee: frau dilénd re 


ntead irom Cay sting 


— n at . 
began to make their app 
i ‘ S ie . é Saas the g 
districts of the island 


uy 


Lire _ j “ ’ 
ar 4 si - . 
~~ . 
as a ’ 
/ iS he 
17 Y A ss 
' 
- 
gf 
ery 
x 
: . 
i 
ta 7 
2 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 269 


these was headed by some prominent Liberal chieftain; 
among others, those at Havana by General Loinaz Cas- 
tillo, in Pinar del Rio by Pino Guerra, and in Santa 
Clara by Orestes Ferrara, afterward President of the 
House of Representatives. The real promoters, insti- 
gators, and chiefs of the movement were General José 
Miguel Gomez, afterward President of the Republic; 
Carlos Garcia, later Minister to England; and Juan 
Gualberto Gomez, the trusted agent of Alfredo Zayas 
and leader of the negro Liberals of the island. Con- 
vincing proofs, in the form of documents over the signa- 
tures of these men, were found showing their treason to 
the republic. They did not actually lead the insurgent 
bands, because they were arrested and imprisoned just 
as they were setting out to do so. President Palma was 
advised that they should be tried and executed, but he 
protested against the courts taking such action, on the 
ground that he could not bring himself to sanction the 
execution of men, some of whom had in former days been 
his companions in arms. 

In the meantime, the revolutionary force swept through 
various parts of the island, seizing horses, mules, beef 
cattle and produce, breaking open groceries and general 
stores, helping themselves to anything that suited their 
fancy, occasionally giving in exchange what was known 
as vale, or a receipt, to the owner, and if the owner hap- 
pened to be an able bodied man, they usually compelled 
him to join the so-called “Constitutional Army.” Con- 
gress at that time happened to have a Liberal majority, 
and it refused to consider or vote upon the budget of the 
coming year, thus practically compelling President Palma 
to use as the basis of expenditures the budget of the pre- 
ceding year. The Liberals boasted that they had thus 
compelled the President technically to violate the Con- 


270 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


stitution, and that they were therefore justified in calling 
themselves the Constitutional Party and in forcing him 
out of the Presidency. 

The Cuban republic at this time had an armed force 
of about two thousand men, scattered throughout the 
island. These were the Rural Guards, and they were 
efficient, and as a rule loyal to the Palma government; 
but they were not sufficient in number to protect the 
sugar estates, and other properties. As before, President 
Palma refused, until the last moment, to believe that a 
serious uprising or revolution against his government was 
possible, on the ground that Cuba, although a young 
republic, had been very prosperous, that money was plen- 
tiful, that work was abundant for any man who cared 
to occupy himself, and that there was no real reason that 
would justify or cause a revolution. He cited the his- 
tory and motives of previous revolutions in Cuba, and 
of those that had occurred in many other countries, in- 
sisting that this uprising could not be serious, and that 
the people of Cuba would not support it. Unfortunately 
he was not a politician. He had lived too many years 
in the safe and sane atmosphere of the United States, and 
did not realize the intense desire on the part of some of 
the people in Latin American countries to get into office, 
regardless of their qualifications or the means employed 
to accomplish their sordid purposes. : 

All of this resulted in a sad lack of preparation. 
President Palma’s Secretary of Finance, Colonel Ernesto 
Fonts-Sterling, and General Rafael Montalvo, Secretary 
of Public Works, realized the threatening dangers and 
urged immediate action; and finally against the Presi- 
dent’s will, twenty machine guns were ordered from the 
United States, and shipped to Cuba, together with 1,- 
000,000 rounds of ammunition. A call for volunteers 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA Pai 


was then issued, and in response numerous Americans 
from various parts of the island, and others from Texas, 
New Mexico and Arizona, in company with patriots of 
Cuba, came immediately to the side of the government. 
But the masses of the Cubans were very tired of war, 
and manifested a peculiar reluctance to assume responsi- 
bility, and to act in line with their consciences and best 
judgment, wherefore the call was not highly successful. 
Fourteen hundred veterans of the War of Independence, 
under the command of General Pedro Betancourt, of 
Matanzas, made response, and presented themselves in 
Havana for orders. A machine gun corps was formed, 
the gunners composed largely of Americans who had 
seen service in the war on the Mexican border, and who 
soon became excellent marksmen. Many of President 
Palma’s counsellors urged immediate action to suppress 
the revolution with a firm hand. But he hesitated too 
long, hoping that some other way out of the difficulty 
would be discovered. 

In this emergency the United States Consul General, 
Mr. Frank Steinhart, suggested to President Palma that 
he should request the assistance of the United States, and 
urged that a commission of military men be sent from 
Washington, backed by a certain display of naval or mili- 
tary force sufficient to discourage the revolution and to 
convince the Liberal leaders that further wanton de- 
struction of property would not be tolerated. Mr. Stein- 
hart also assured him that he would see to it that such a 
commission would come with a full understanding of the 
situation, and with the power and spirit to assist him in 
maintaining peace and order. President Palma made 
this request to which the United States promptly re- 
sponded by sending the gunboat Bancroft, and a company 
of marines who immediately came ashore at Havana. 


202 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Following the Bancroft came other steamers, one of which 
brought the Secretary of War, William H. Taft, Robert 
Bacon, Assistant Secretary of State, and Major-General 
Frederick Funston, with several of his aides. 

In fuller explanation of these circumstances some offi- 
cial correspondence may pertinently be cited. On Sep- 
tember 8, 1906, Consul General Steinhart sent the fol- 
lowing confidential telegram to the State Department: 

“Secretary of State, Cuba, has requested me, in name 
of President Palma, to ask President Roosevelt to send 
immediately two vessels; one to Havana and other to 
Cienfuegos; they must come at once. Government forces 
are unable to quell revolution. ‘The government is un- 
able to protect lives and property. President Palma will 
convene Congress next Friday, and Congress will ask 
for our forcible intervention. It must be kept secret and 
confidential that Palma asked for vessels. No one here 
except President, Secretary of State and myself know 
about it. Very anxiously awaiting reply.” 

The State Department at Washington replied to this 
on September 10th: 

“Your cable received. ‘Two ships have been sent, due 
to arrive Wednesday. ‘The President directs me to state 
that perhaps you had not yourself appreciated the re- 
luctance with which this country would intervene. Pres- 
ident Palma should be informed that in the public opin- 
ion here it would have a most damaging effect for in- 
tervention to be undertaken until the Cuban government 
has exhausted every effort in a serious attempt to put 
down the insurrection and has made this fact evident to 
the world. At present the impression certainly would 
be that there was no real popular support of the Cuban 
government, or else that the government was hopelessly 
weak. As conditions are at this moment we are not 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA abo 


prepared to say what shape the intervention should take. 
It is, of course, a very serious matter to undertake forci- 
ble intervention, and before going into it we should have 
to be absolutely certain of the equities of the case and 
of the needs of the situation. Meanwhile we assume that 
every effort is being made by the Government to come to 
a working agreement which will secure peace with the 
insurrectos, provided they are unable to hold their own 
with them in the field. Until such efforts have been 
made, we are not prepared to consider the question of 
intervention at all.” 

On September 10, Consul-General Steinhart cabled 
again: 

“Your cable received and directly communicated to 
the President, who asks ships remain for a considerable 
time to give security to foreigners in the island of Cuba 
and says that he will do as much as possible with his 
forces to put down the insurrection, but if unable to 
conquer or compromise, Cuban Congress will indicate 
kind of intervention desirable. He appreciates reluct- 
ance on our part to intervene, especially in view of Sec- 
retary Root’s recent statements. Few, however, under- 
stand Cuban situation, and a less number are able to 
appreciate same. ‘This, of course, without any refer- 
ence to superior authority. Palma applied public funds 
in public work and public education, and not in pur- 
chase of war materials. Insurrectionists for a consider- 
able time prepared for present condition, hence govern- 
ment’s apparent weakness at the commencement. Yes- 
terday’s defeat of rebels gives Government hope. At- 
tempts useless from start.” 

On September 12, Consul-General Steinhart again 
cabled. 

“Secretary of State the Republic of Cuba at 3: 40 to- 


274 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


day delivered to me memorandum in his own handwrit- 
ing, a translation of which follows, and is transmitted 
notwithstanding the previous secret instructions on the 
subject. The rebellion is increasing in Provinces of 
Santa Clara, Habana and Pinar del Rio, and Cuban 
Government has no elements to contend with it, to defend 
the towns and prevent the rebels from destroying prop- 
erty. President Estrada Palma asks for American in- 
tervention and begs President Roosevelt to send to Ha- 
bana with the greatest secrecy and rapidity 2,000 or 
3,000 men to avoid any catastrophe in the capital. The 
intervention asked for should not be made public until 
American troops are in Habana. The situation is grave 
and any delay may produce massacre of citizens in 
Habana.” 

The next day, Mr. Steinhart agained cabled: 

“President Palma, the Republic of Cuba, through me 
officially asked for American intervention because he 
can not prevent rebels from entering cities and burning 
property. It is doubtful whether quorum when Con- 
gress assembles next Friday, tomorrow. President 
Palma has irrevocably resolved to resign and to deliver 
the government of Cuba to the representative whom the 
President of the United States will designate, as soon as 
sufficient American troops are landed in Cuba. This act 
on the part of President Palma to save his country from 
complete anarchy and imperative intervention come im- 
mediately. It may be necessary to land force of Denver 
to protect American property. About 8,000 rebels out- 
side Habana. Cienfuegos also at mercy of rebels. 
Three sugar plantations destroyed. Foregoing all re- 
solved in Palace.” 

On September 14, Consul-General Steinhart finally 
cabled: 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 275 


“President Palma has resolved not to continue at head 
of the government, and is ready to present his resignation 
even though present disturbances should cease at once. 
The Vice President has resolved not to accept the office. 
Cabinet ministers have declared that they will previously 
resign. Under these conditions it is impossible that 
Congress will meet for the lack of a proper person to 
convoke same to designate new President. The conse- . 
quences will be the absence of legal power, and therefore 
the prevailing state of anarchy will continue unless gov- 
ernment of the United States will adopt measures neces- 
sary to avoid this danger.” 

On that day President Roosevelt wrote to Robert 
Bacon, the Assistant Secretary of State, enclosing a letter 
to Senor Gonzalo de Quesada, the Cuban minister to the 
United States for publication in the public press, in which 
he begged the Cuban patriots to band together, to sink 
all differences and personal ambitions, and to rescue the 
island from the anarchy of civil war; closing the letter as 
follows: 

“T am sending to Habana the Secretary of War, Mr. 
Taft, and the Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Bacon, as 
special representatives of this Government, who will ren- 
der such aid as is possible toward these ends. I had 
hoped that Mr. Root, the Secretary of State, could have 
stopped in Habana on his return from South America, 
but the seeming imminence of the crisis forbids further 
delay.” 

Messrs. Taft and Bacon reached Cuba on September 
19, 1906. Before leaving the ship they were informed 
that the Secretary of State and Justice of President 
Palma’s cabinet would call at their convenience. They 
invited him on board at once and had a short talk with 
him. They were informed that immediately on publica- 


276 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


tion of the President’s message, President Palma had di- 
rected a cessation of hostilities on the part of the govern- 
ment forces, and that the insurgents had done likewise. 
Messrs. Taft and Bacon then called upon President 
Palma. They told him that they regarded themselves 
as intermediaries and Peace Commissioners, and did not 
wish to negotiate with rebels in arms without his permis- 
sion. He suggested that ne- 
gotiations be conducted be- 
tween the two political parties, 
rather than between himself 
and the insurgents, and sug- 
gested that the Vice-President, 
“\Yy, Mendez Capote, for the Mod- 
. \ erate part d Senator Al- 
iN party, and Senator 

fredo Zayas, head of the Lib- 
eral party, be the negotiators. 

ae He added that General Men- 
ocal on behalf of the veterans of the War of Independence 
had previously attempted, on September 8, to bring about 
a compromise, but without avail. 

President Palma told Mr. Taft very earnestly and 
somewhat pathetically of his efforts to teach his people 
the knowledge of good government gained from his 
twenty years of residence in the United States, and his 
association with the American people, and called atten- 
tion to his successful handling of Cuban finances, to the 
economy of expenditures of his government, to the fact 
that he had at all times encouraged the investment of 
foreign capital, and to the prosperity of his four years as 
President. He deplored what he regarded as a lack of 
patriotism on the part of the leaders of the insurrection, 
and cited a number of instances to prove that they were 
actuated by motives of greed and desire for office. His 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 2i7 


demeanor was dignified and earnest, and what he said 
made a deep impression. 

The Americans then went to the home of the American 
Minister at Marianao, a suburb of Havana, where the 
insurgents had outposts just across the bridge, about 
1,000 yards from the minister’s house. There they con- 
ferred, as President Palma had suggested, with Sefiors 
Capote and Zayas, with the Secretary of Government, 
General Rafael Montalvo, who had charge of mobilizing 
the forces of the government; with General Rodriguez, 
and with the American Consul General, Mr. Steinhart, 
who had been eight years in the island, understood its 
conditions, and spoke its language. 

It was explained to Mr. Taft that some of the leaders 
of the revolution had been apprehended, and at present 
were incarcerated in the penitentiary, but that they could 
be summoned to the home of the American Minister, if 
he so desired. He did desire it, and the Liberal leaders 
were brought from their prison. They included Jose 
Miguel Gomez, Gualberto Gomez, Carlos Garcia, and 
others of the group. Senator Alfredo Zayas remained 
present, and when Mr. Taft asked for a statement from 
the prisoners regarding the causes of the revolution and 
their purposes and demands, he acted as counsel and 
spokesman. Dr. Zayas stated that the election of the 
President and his government had been absolutely fraud- 
ulent; that armed soldiers had prevented the approach of 
the Liberals to the polls; that they had absolute proof 
that the votes would never be counted but that the whole 
proceeding would be a farce, and that, as a protest against 
such frauds and miscarriage of justice, they had delib- 
erately refrained from going to the polls after ten o’clock 
in the morning; that the results of the election had been 
absurd and ridiculous; that the Liberals were greatly in 


278 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the majority in the island, ‘‘as every one knew,” and that 
the government, as constituted, was an imposition on the 
people, weak, inefficient and corrupt. He added that 
he and his compatriots wanted nothing more than that 
which they were in a position to enforce, and which they 
would have enforced had it not been for the suspension 
of hostilities which had been acquiesced in by the Lib- 
erals only out of deference to Mr. Taft and his commis-. 
sion. 

In other words, Dr. Zayas stated that they wished 
the immediate resignation of President Palma, his cab- 
inet, and all members of Congress who had secured their 
seats at the last election; and he intimated that the judges 
of the courts who had been appointed by the Conserva- 
tive party were corrupt and incompetent, and should be 
replaced by better men. In fact, they demanded the re- 
moval of the entire administration, and the annulment 
of the results of the last election. 

Against this Mr. Taft protested, stating that Dr. 
Zayas’s suggestions were decidedly radical; that so far 
as Estrada Palma was concerned, he had been elected 
with at least the moral support of the United States goy- 
ernment; that Washington knew and trusted him and had 
every reason to believe him a thoroughly honest man; and 
that he could not consent to any move so sweeping as 
that which Dr. Zayas suggested. Dr. Zayas immediately 
withdrew his objection to President Palma, stating that, 
on second thought, his retention as President would pre- 
serve the republican form of government, and save the 
island from a political change that should be avoided if 
possible. Therefore, Mr. Palma was more than welcome 
to remain as President of the Republic; but every other 
condition expressed with reference to Congress, the cab- 
inet and the courts, must be enforced, and at once. That 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 279 


was the ultimatum given to Mr. Taft by the leaders of 
the Liberals. 

This ultimatum was conveyed at once to President 
Palma, together with the intimation that it was a bad 
mess all around, and that, since a force variously esti- 
mated at between twelve and twenty thousand men sur- 
rounded the City of Havana, and property was in dan- 
ger, and since Orestes Ferrara had already notified the 
commission that if the demands were not acquiesced in, 
three of the large sugar plantations in the neighborhood 
of Cienfuegos would be given over to the torch at day- 
light the next morning, it was probably best to yield to 
the demands of the Liberals, and practically to let them 
have their way, in the interest of peace, brotherhood and 
conservation of the rights of property. 

This astounding and unworthy attitude on the part of 
the Commission deeply hurt President Palma, who had 
with good cause expected not only its moral aid but 
probably also the military support of the armed force 
that came to Cuba, at least as long as the policy of his 
government could be justified. ‘This mental attitude was 
_ not however indicated by any word that came from his 
lips. With unmoved dignity he bowed in uncomplain- 
ing acquiescence, and said that he entirely understood the 
situation; that Mr. Taft would receive his resignation 
as President, by word of mouth and in writing, as quickly 
as it could be dictated to his secretary; and that he would 
retire at once from the Presidency of Cuba. Against 
this action Mr. Taft protested, though he himself had 
obviously made it necessary, and explained that arrange- 
ments had been made, at his suggestion, in which Dr. 
Zayas as leader of the Liberals had acquiesced, to the 
effect that Mr. Palma should remain as President of the 
Republic, although the Liberals demanded the expulsion 


280 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


of all other members of the administration. President 
Palma thanked Mr. Taft for his expression of faith in 
him personally, but absolutely refused to consider the 
withdrawal of his resignation, stating with impregnable 
logic, which Mr. Taft could not refute, that if his cab- 
inet, his Congress and his courts were fraudulent, or held 
their positions illegally, he himself, having been elected 
at the same time, and in the same manner, was not the 
real President of Cuba. ‘Therefore, he refused to re- 
main longer in office. He added with punctilious cour- 
tesy that he would take the liberty of eating his supper 
in the palace with his family, since it was prepared, but 
he would not remain within its walls another day. 

When this attitude of the President was communi- 
cated to the members of the Cuban Congress, a meeting 
was at once called, at which, after a great deal of ani- 
mated discussion, a joint committee was appointed, con- 
sisting of twenty-four men, to wait upon and expostulate 
with President Palma, but after several hours of plead- 
ing, they were unsuccessful in persuading him to change 
his mind. 

So came the fall of the Palma government, whereupon 
Secretary Taft assumed complete charge and control of 
the affairs of the Cuban Republic. The insurgent lead- 
ers signed a formal agreement to surrender, in which they 
promised to restore to their owners the horses and other 
property which they had seized, though as a matter of 
fact none of them did so; since, for good measure, per- 
haps, Mr. Taft through military decree gave to the rebels 
an absolute deed of ownership of the horses they had 
stolen from the stables and fields of their rightful owners. 
It took them nearly two weeks to disarm and disperse. 
Then Mr. Taft issued a proclamation granting ‘a full 
and complete amnesty and pardon to all persons who have 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 281 


directly or indirectly participated in the recent insurrec- 
tion in Cuba, or who have given aid or comfort to per- 
sons participating therein, for offenses political in their 
nature and committed in the course of the insurrection 
and prior to disbandment.” ‘This amnesty, he added, 
was to be “considered and construed as covering offenses 
of rebellion, sedition or conspiracy to commit the same, 
and other related offenses.” 

Finally, Mr. Taft announced on October 13 the turn- 
ing over of the government of the island, with the full 
power which he himself had exercised, to Mr. Charles E. 
Magoon, and on that same date Mr. Magoon accepted 
and was installed in the office, thus beginning the sec- 
ond Government of Intervention. The general feeling 
of Cubans at that time was divided. The pessimistic 
elements rather suspected that the United States, having 
been called there a second time, might never leave. On 
the other hand, the thinking class, and those who had 
experienced the United States government and its various 
administrations in Cuba, especially under General Leon- 
ard Wood, were confident that it was only a temporary 
régime that circumstances had made necessary, and they 
hoped that out of it much good would come. 

Thus ended the most pathetic and tragic incident in 
the history of the Cuban Republic, and the one which 
was on the whole most discreditable to the United States. 
Nothing could have been more deplorable than that a 
statesman of the great ability, the lofty ideals and espe- 
cially the generally judicial mind of Mr. Taft should thus 
weakly and illogically have yielded to a vile conspiracy, 
manifested through lawless threats and unproved clamor, 
against a Chief of State who in validity of title, in purity 
of character, in unselfish devotion to the public good, and 
in potential efficiency of enlightened administrationship, 


282 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


was not unworthy to be ranked even in the same category 
with the great President under whom Mr. Taft himself 
held his commission. 

Estrada Palma, according to Mr. Taft’s intimation, 
had erred. History will forever record that he erred 
chiefly if not solely in assuming, in his own transparent 
integrity, that other men were as honest as himself. He 
was, his enemies asserted, weak. But intelligence and 
justice must discern and declare that his only weakness 
was in an over-confidence in the people to whose service 
he had given all the best of his life and in whose loyalty 
and support he imagined that he could securely trust. 
He could not, in the greatness of his own soul, bring 
himself to believe it possible for men, for men calling 
themselves Cuban patriots, to do such things as those 
which Jose Miguel Gomez and Alfredo Zayas and 
Orestes Ferrara and their coparceners did. He was not 
moved by weakness, but by a desire to protect Cuba 
from the ravages of sordid revolution and from the un- 
scrupulous exploitation of bushwhacking bandits, and 
to preserve for the Cuban people and their Republic the 
good name which had been so fairly and as he thought 
fully established during the years of his first adminis- 
tration. His place in the annals of Cuba is secure. His 
rank among the constitutional executives of the world is 
enviably high. There has been in Cuba or elsewhere 
no more honest administration than his, and none that 
more intelligently, unselfishly and untiringly strove to 
fulfil its every duty to the state. Its untimely fall is not 
to be charged against any subjective fault of its own, 
but to the unscrupulous malice of sordid foes, the apathy 
of the people in whom too great confidence had been re- 
posed, and to the inexplicable betrayal by those who 
should have supported and protected it but who instead 
consented to its destruction. 


CHAPTER XV 


Mr. Macoon came to Cuba but little known to Cubans 
and unfamiliar with what was before him. During this 
second American intervention there were some radical 
changes in the administration, and more public works 
were undertaken than President Palma had ventured 
upon. ‘The consensus of opinion among American offi- 
cers, all the officers who had accompanied Mr. Magoon, 
was that the Palma administration had made a mistake 
in allowing so much money to accumulate in the treas- 
ury. It had become a temptation to those who were not 
in power, and it would have been better to have the 
money expended along lines that would tend to advance 
the republic rather than to permit it to accumulate. So 
it was realized that if it was not expended during Mr. 
Magoon’s administration, it would be spent, and prob- 
ably largely wasted, if not actually misappropriated, by 
the Liberals if they should secure control of the govern- 
ment. 

The most unfortunate thing in connection with the visit 
of Mr. Taft, and therefore with the administration of 
Mr. Magoon, was that the Liberals had apparently 
gained their ends. The majority of thoughtful and pa- 
triotic Cubans had expected the intervention of the United 
States to result in the upholding of law, order and justice 
in the support of President Palma and his administra- 
tion. They had expected that Mr. Taft would take time 
to investigate the case thoroughly, and that he would in- 


sist at the outset, as an indispensable preliminary to his 
283 


284 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


entering into conference with them, that the Liberal in- 
surgents should surrender their arms and ammunition, 
return the property which they had stolen, and submit 
themselves loyally to the constitutional government of the 
island; and that after that, but only after it, he would 
see to it that justice was done to them as to all parties and 
all people. That course was unfortunately not taken. 
Mr. Taft entered into conference with unrepentant and 
defiant rebels whose followers were at the moment in 
arms, threatening and preparing to make further crim- 
inal assaults upon property and life. He regarded or at 
least treated them as no less worthy of a hearing and of 
being taken into conference than the President himself; 
and despite his protests he concluded the sorry perform- 
ance by practically ousting President Palma and his 
cabinet at the behest of these lawless insurgents. 

The sequel was tragedy. Estrada Palma died, not of 
pneumonia but of a broken heart. Nor was that all. 
Encouragement was given to the lawless and criminal 
elements of the island, and to those who resort to vio- 
lence, insurrection and revolution as the means of at- 
taining their political ends, which has been felt ever since 
and which has repeatedly given rise to attempts to repeat 
the performance which then was so successful. Recog- 
nition was given to the Liberals, through what were 
doubtless good but certainly were mistaken motives, and 
the Liberals insisted upon maintaining that recognition 
and profiting from it. So when a Council, or Consulting 
Board, of eleven members was formed with General 
Enoch H. Crowder as chairman, it contained only two 
Conservatives and one man of doubtful affiliations. 
Three members, Senors Garcia Kohly, Viondi and Car- 
rera, did not belong to the August revolutionists but were 
members of the Moderado party, which had supported 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 285 


Estrada Palma. They acted as “Independents” on the 
Commission, though they were intimately associated with 
the Liberals, and as “Independents” they participated in 
the municipal elections. But later they joined the Lib- 
erals outright. All the rest of the Commission, or Con- 
sulting Board, were Liberals who had actually taken part 
in the rebellion. No appointment to office could be made 
without the sanction of that Board, and the result was 
that the Second Government of Intervention was packed 
with Liberal placeholders. Competent men, who had 
served the State well under President Palma’s adminis- 
tration, were dismissed and replaced by incompetents 
whose sole recommendation was that they were Liberals. 

Now the voters of Cuba are as a rule easily impressed, 
and do not always appreciate the possibility, through 
hard work, of transforming a minority into a majority. 
They delight in being at once on the winning side, and 
therefore pay much attention to determining not so much 
which of two rival and contending parties is really right 
and deserving of support, as which side is going to win. 
The fact that the Liberal leaders, who previously had 
had almost no recognition, social, political or official, 
suddenly came to the front, and with the apparent ac- 
quiescence of the United States, or of the commission 
appointed in Washington, were exerting great influence, 
seemed a pretty sure indication, or at least was so inter- 
preted, that the United States had changed its ideas with 
regard to the government in Cuba, and was favoring, and 
probably would continue to favor and sustain the Liberal 
party. That was one of the reasons why the Liberals 
won their next election. In fact they pointed to it as 
evidence of America’s moral support, and frequently re- 
ferred to and displayed an order, said to have been is- 
sued through mistake, which provided that every man 


286 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


who had stolen a horse, and who confessed his theft 
frankly, should have full proprietary title to that horse 
and need not surrender it to the owner. The order is 
still on the statute books, a memento of the American in- 
tervention. That was resented by the better citizens; it 
discouraged many people who had had great confidence 
in the United States, and it illustrates not the general pol- 
icy of the second government of intervention, but some 
of the unfortunate things that took place under that 
intervention, that seemed to the better class in Cuba as 
mistaken. 

Mr. Magoon spent the larger part of the money found 
in the treasury on public works, the building of roads, 
and various enterprises for the best interests of the island. 
It is claimed that in some instances the contracts became a 
source of graft, and that the roads were not built accord- 
ing to specifications. At any rate, they were built, and 
were sorely needed, and the results on the whole were 
excellent. Of the $26,000,000 left by the Palma admin- 
istration nearly every dollar was expended at that time. 

Although the second Government of Intervention was 
theoretically and nominally, and doubtless meant to be 
actually, quite nonpolitical and impartial as between the 
Cuban parties, the very circumstances of its origin made 
it appear to favor the Liberals. It had come into power 
by accepting the resignation of the Palma administra- 
tion, which was practically Conservative, at the demand 
of the Liberals. ‘The Liberals thus enjoyed all through 
its duration the prestige of victory, without having to 
bear any of the responsibility of being in office, or in- 
curring any of the odium which is almost inevitable to 
every human government which has not learned to 
achieve the impossible task of pleasing everybody. 
There was no such foundation work to do as had been 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 287 


done under the first Intervention, and the American gov- 
ernment busied itself principally with routine matters, 
and with making it possible for the Cubans to resume 
control of their own affairs. 

One of the most important undertakings at this time 
from a non-political point of view was the taking of a 
new census. This was not done on so elaborate a scale 
as the preceding census of 1899, but was more strictly an 
enumeration of the people, for purposes of apportion- 
ment, etc. It was taken under the direction of the 
American Government of Intervention in 1907, the actual 
work on it being done by a staff of Cuban canvassers and 
statisticians, and it was believed to have been accurately 
and comprehensively done. 

The work of compiling the new census of Cuba which 
was taken in 1907 was continued in the early part of 
1908 and was completed and results were published at 
the end of March of that year. The total population of 
the island was reported to be 2,048,980, and out of this 
number 419,342 were citizens and entitled to vote. It 
was then arranged to hold municipal and provincial 
elections on August 1, and a national election on Novem- 
ber 14. These elections would be essential parts of the 
processes by which the United States government would 
bring its second intervention to a close and restore the 
island to the control and government of its own people. 
The electoral law under which they were to be conducted 
was promulgated for the August election on April 1 and 
for the November election on September 11, 1908. 

This law had three salient and characterizing features. 
The first was that it established a system of permanent 
election boards which were charged with the work of 
conducting the elections. In each municipality there 
was to be a board of three members. In each depart- 


288 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


ment or province there was to be a board of five members 
of whom two were to be representatives of the two prin- 
cipal political parties of the island while the other three 
were to be non-political members, officials of the courts 
or representatives of the education department. The sec- 
ond salient feature of the law was a system of compulsory 
registration. This provided for the making and keeping 
by the election boards of lists of all persons in the island 
who were entitled to vote. The basis of these lists was 
the census of 1907, and it was provided that the lists 
should be revised, corrected and amplified by the elec- 
tion boards every year. 

The third and perhaps the most important feature of 
the law was its provision for proportional representation. 
This secured minority representation, giving each of the 
important political parties membership in legislative 
bodies and also in the Electoral College representation in 
proportion to the number of votes polled. 

Under the constitution of Cuba the right of suffrage is 
guaranteed to every adult male in full enjoyment of his 
ordinary civil rights. ‘This of course bestows the fran- 
chise upon a great number of illiterate persons. ‘The 
commission which revised the electoral law in 1908 care- 
fully considered the question of undertaking in some 
way to deal with the illiterate vote so that it would not 
be, as it seemed on the face to be, a potential menace to 
the state. It was finally decided however, that it would 
be impracticable and inadvisable to attempt in any way 
to modify the constitution. Provisions were, however, 
adopted whereby alien residents of the island, although 
not permitted to vote, were made eligible for election as 
members of municipal councils and also as associate 
members of municipal commissions. 

The provincial and municipal elections occurred on 


ae 


® i 
f 


RANT e Wa 3) s to be a bea 
were to | be Be core —— 
surties of the i sland. hile 
Doli cal eee ers, offnell 
es of the education depar et 
oe re of the law was-a system a conn 
‘om. ‘This provided for the maki 

an a boards of lists of allp Pera 


 gensux of 1907, andiat was pro idea oy th 
ected and ai mplified. by ti 


wid he revised, Corr 


obi _ THE ACADEMY OF ARTS 
‘The Academy of Arts and Crafts is jane 


hes 


i _ tions which make Havana an important ¢ 
& PED cub ( a 
or and applied. This great school of t 
- in 1882, and occupies a fine Sully ie 
heterdemtebechirdare: et 
- Of sort? ua tO oh :, hg 
Uuder the co 
“ ryt Tt? 
rueranyres } 
5 hy 3 r, A 
sn 
‘hie q < eaeete aL 
es 
1 rey i | i « 
+ 4 rattean of 
¢ illiter2 ao yf 
face to be, 2 potenti 
1 or G2 iy decided ho weve 
‘ LS af) iA attempt a he 
r non. rovi 
* : . esiden 5 oO 
of t ' made el 2 
ee 7 . 
ryver } ¢ winch ai d 
- * r na i con yohOL 
Pr 
. , munICIpar if 
. ea 


ee 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 289 


August 1. There were in the field three major political 
parties, namely, the Conservatives, the Liberals and the 
Historical Liberals. The latter two were formed by a 
split which had occurred in the Liberal party. The prin- 
cipal faction was led by Jose Miguel Gomez, who claimed 
to be representative of the original and only simon pure 
Liberals, and who regarded the other faction as an lllegit- 
imate schism. The followers of Gomez accordingly 
called themselves the Historical Liberal Party, but were 
popularly known as the Miguelistas. The other faction 
was led by Alfredo Zayas and called itself simply the 
Liberal Party, being popularly known as the Zayistas. 
There was another insignificant faction which had been 
known as the National Independent Party but which now 
merged itself with the Zayistas. The third party was 
of course the Conservative. 

The result of the elections of August 1 was the polling 
of 269,132 votes or about 60 per cent. of the registration. 
The Conservatives elected their candidates for Governor 
in the three provinces of Pinar del Rio, Matanzas and 
Santa Clara. In the municipalities of the island the 
Conservatives elected twenty-eight mayors, the Miguel- 
istas thirty-five and the Zayistas eighteen. The elec- 
tions were conducted quietly and legally, no serious 
charges of intimidation or fraud were made, and the re- 
sults were loyally accepted by men of all parties. 

The campaign for the Presidential election was then 
continued with much zeal. The results of the election 
of August 1 were taken deeply to heart by the various Lib- 
eral leaders as demonstrating to them that the split in 
their party would be fatal to them in the national elec- 
tion unless it were healed or at least some sort of a 
modus vivendi were established. Accordingly Jose 
Miguel Gomez and Alfredo Zayas “got together” and 


290 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


agreed upon a compromise of their claims. It was alto- 
gether apparent that Gomez was on the whole the stronger 
of the two candidates. Also he was the older of the two 
men. ‘Therefore it was agreed that he should have the 
first chance at the Presidency of Cuba. He should be 
the candidate at the coming election of 1908, but if he 
was successful in being elected he should not seek a 
second term but at the end of his first should step aside 
and give his support to Zayas as his successor. With this 
understanding the party was reunited for the purposes of 
the campaign. Gomez was made the candidate for the 
Presidency and Zayas was nominated for the Vice-Presi- 
dency. ‘The Conservatives nominated for the Presidency 
General Mario G. Menocal and for the Vice-Presidency 
Doctor Rafael Montoro. 

The campaign was conducted with much spirit and 
earnestness but generally in a dignified and law abiding 
manner. ‘The chief stock in trade of the Liberals was 
abuse of the former administration of Estrada Palma, 
and of General Menocal as the inheritor of its traditions 
and policies. ‘There were also many intemperate attacks 
upon Doctor Montoro because of his former association 
with the Autonomist party and the brief Autonomist Goy- 
ernment during the later part of the War of Independ- 
ence. How insincere this criticism of Dr. Montoro was 
appeared a little later when that statesman was ap- 
pointed to a very important office under the Gomez ad- 
ministration. 

The election occurred on November 14, under the 
general supervision of the American Government of In- 
tervention, and was conducted in a peaceful and legal 
manner, giving no cause for serious complaints on either 
side. The result of the polling was a decisive victory for 
the Liberal party. Of the 331,455 votes the Liberals 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 291 


polled 201,199 and the Conservatives 130,256, there be- 
ing thus a Liberal majority of 70,943. The Liberals 
carried all six provinces of the island, obtaining their 
largest majorities in Havana, Santa Clara and Oriente. 
Gomez and Zayas were assured of the entire electoral 
vote, though under the law of proportional representation 
for minorities the Conservatives elected thirty-two mem- 
bers of Congress to the Liberals’ fifty-one. 

Various reasons were assigned for this decisive defeat 
of General Menocal. One was, that the Liberals were 
in the public eye as coming men. It was said that as 
their leaders had never been tried as directors of the Re- 
public, it was time to give them an opportunity to show 
what they could do. The policy which the Liberals had 
outlined in advance was very attractive to certain classes 
of the population. They promised to abolish the law 
which General Wood had made, prohibiting cock-fight- 
ing. They even harked back to “Jack” Cade for in- 
spiration, and promised that when they came into power 
there should be no necessity for men to work as hard as 
they had been doing. In token of these two promises 
they adopted as their pictorial emblem in the campaign a 
plow standing idle in a weed-grown field without plow- 
man or oxen, and with a fighting cock perched upon its 
beam. Their campaign cry might therefore appropri- 
ately have been “Cockfighting and Idleness!”’ It is not 
agreeable to recall that such issues appealed to so large 
a proportion of the citizens of Cuba that upon them the 
election of 1908 was won. 

Much of the stock in trade of the Liberal campaign 
consisted also in denunciation of General Menocal. The 
Liberals declared that he was representative of the class 
and the régime that had practically been dismissed by the 
United States government in the Second Intervention, 


292 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


namely, the “silk-stocking” or intellectual class, which 
did not sympathize with the people and with the real 
cause of popular liberty. It was also pointed out as 
though it were an opprobrious fact that General Menocal 
had associated with himself as Vice-Presidential candi- 
date Dr. Rafael Montoro, to whose character and ability 
not even the Liberals ventured to take exception, but who 
had been an Autonomist. When this reputed reason for 
his defeat was mentioned to General Menocal he de- 
clared that he was willing to accept it, though he did not 
believe it to be the true one; adding that after having 
been associated with Dr. Montoro during the campaign 
and having intimately exchanged ideas with him, he re- 
garded him, Autonomist though he had been, as one of 
the best men Cuba had ever produced, and would more 
gladly be defeated with him than be victorious with the 
companion of his opponent. 

The various provincial and municipal officers who 
had been elected on August 1 took office and the new pro- 
vincial laws went into effect on October 1, 1908. Be- 
cause of the persistent failure of the Cuban Congress 
hitherto to enact new municipal legislation these were the 
first local officials chosen by the people since the munici- 
pal elections which were held under the first American 
Government of Intervention of 1901. Since 1901 all 
vacancies occurring in municipal offices had been filled 
either by the votes of the municipal councils themselves 
or by appointment of the national government. ‘This 
was because no provision had been made for their elec- 
tion by the people. Naturally this state of affairs gave 
great dissatisfaction and repeated demands were made by 
the Liberals for the removal of the holdover officials. It 
was also contended by the Liberals that the election of 
members of the provincial councils in 1905 had been 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 293 


illegal. Under the old law provincial governors and 
councilmen were elected for four years and half of the 
council was renewed every two years. Thus half of the 
council was elected in 1903 and these members took their 
seats in 1904, and half were again elected in 1905 and 
took their seats in 1906. The contention of the Liberals 
was that this latter half, of 1905-1906, were illegal. On 
April 6, 1908, the terms of councilmen elected in 1903 
and seated in 1904 expired, leaving in office only those 
who had been elected in 1905 and seated in 1906, whom 
the Liberals affected to regard as having been illegally 
elected, and who in any case were not sufficient for a legal 
quorum. The Liberals demanded therefore that all 
seats be declared vacant and that the powers of the pro- 
vincial assemblies be vested for the time in the Pro- 
visional Government of Intervention. This was done, 
and the provincial governors were also required to re- 
sign. ‘These latter vacancies were filled temporarily by 
the appointment of United States army officers, who 
served until October 1, 1908, when they were succeeded 
by men elected by the Cuban people. 

There was undoubtedly great need for a thorough re- 
vision of the laws of Cuba. ‘Those existing at this time 
were for the most part a legacy of the old Spanish gov- 
ernment and it was quite obvious that laws which had 
been enacted by a despotic government for the control of 
a subject colony were not suited for a free and independ- 
ent republic. They were certainly not in harmony with 
the constitution which had been adopted. It was an 
anomalous state of affairs that after the adoption of 
the constitution Cuban municipalities should continue to 
be governed under the Spanish provincial and municipal 
code of 1878. ‘This code gave the Central Government 
not only intimate supervision over but practical control 


294 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


of all municipal affairs, even to the smallest details, and 
naturally was very unsatisfactory to the people who were 
desirous of local home rule as well as of national inde- 
pendence. In fact the efforts of the national authorities 
to enforce these laws were regarded with displeasure and 
actually caused strong local antagonism to the national 
government. 

Under the second government of intervention, there- 
fore, a commission was organized in 1907 consisting of 
both Cubans and Americans, the former being the ma- 
jority, for the purpose of drafting elaborate codes of 
electoral, municipal, provincial, judiciary and civil ser- 
vice laws. ‘This commission completed its work but all 
its recommendations were not adopted. Its provincial 
and municipal codes were however put into effect on 
October 1, 1908. 

The general condition of the island during the second 
American intervention was excellent so far as the main- 
tenance of law and order was concerned. This was 
largely due to the efficient work of the Rural Guard, the 
operations of which were directed by a number of Amer- 
ican officers detailed for that purpose. While brigan- 
dage was not wholly suppressed, it was much diminished 
and held in check. 

One of the chief controversies with which the govern- 
ment of intervention had to deal was that with the Roman 
Catholic church over various properties formerly belong- 
ing to it which had been confiscated by the Spanish gov- 
ernment. There was some such property in the province 
of Oriente, a part of extensive estates once held by cer- 
tain monastic orders. It had been taken by the Spanish 
government during the Ten Years’ War, and at the end 
of that conflict the government refused to return it, but 
instead of doing so agreed to make an annual appropria- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 295 


tion for the benefit of the church. Upon the separation 
of State and Church under American intervention in 1899 
these appropriations were discontinued, whereupon the 
church claimed that the property should be restored to 
it. The validity of this claim was recognized by the 
American government, but instead of complying with it 
by actual restoration of the property that government pur- 
chased a part of the property from the church at a price 
mutually agreed upon as satisfactory. It was over the 
remainder of this property that the controversy was re- 
newed, and it was settled by a similar purchase in 1908. 
Another such controversy arose over valuable property 
in Havana, which had been taken from the church by the 
government for the custom house and other public offices; 
and it also was settled by fair purchase on July 12, 1907. 

After the installation of provincial and municipal offi- 
cers on October 1, 1908, and after the successful conduct 
of the national election on November 14 following, the 
American Government of Intervention busied itself 
chiefly with preparations for withdrawing from the island 
and returning the control and government to the repre- 
sentative of the Cuban people. This was finally effected 
on January 28, 1909, when Governor Magoon retired 
and Jose Miguel Gomez became President of Cuba. 
The total cost to Cuba of the second American interven- 
tion was estimated at about $6,000,000. 

The general feeling of the responsible people of Cuba 
concerning the second American intervention was one 
of extreme disappointment, owing to the fact that they 
compared it with the intervention under General Wood, 
or rather with the conduct of affairs under him. That 
first intervention was under the control of military offi- 
cers, and when they made up their mind that a thing 
should be done, it was done, and as a rule well done, and 


296. THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the example which was set in directing affairs of the 
government, organizing public works, schools, in sani- 
tation, and in auditing, made the second intervention 
suffer by comparison. 


CHAPTER XVI 


Jost Micuet Gomez became President and Alfredo 
Zayas became Vice-President of the Republic of Cuba 
on January 28, 1909. With a substantial majority in 
Congress ready to do his will, and with the immeasurable 
prestige of success, first over the Palma Administration 
and later in the contest at the polls, the President was 
almost all-powerful to adopt and to execute whatever de- 
signs he had, either for the assumed welfare of Cuba 
or for the strengthening of his own political position. 
He selected a Cabinet of his own supporters, as follows: 


Secretary of State, Senor Garcia Velez. 

Secretary of Justice, Senor Divino. 

Secretary of Government, Senor Lopez Leiva. 

Secretary of the Treasury, Senor Diaz de Villegas. 

Secretary of Public Works, Senor Chalons. 

Secretary of Agriculture, Commerce and Labor, Senor 
Foyo. 

Secretary of Public Instruction and Arts, Senor Meza. 

Secretary of Sanitation and Charity, Senor Duque. 

Secretary to the President, Senor Damaso Pasalodos. 


Not many of these men had hitherto been conspicuous 
in the affairs of the island, in either peace or war, and 
their capacity for service was untried. It cannot be said 
that they were regarded with any large degree of en- 
thusiastic confidence by the nation at large. Yet there 
was indubitably a general purpose, even among the most 
resolute Conservatives, to give them a fair trial and to 


wish them success. Men who had the welfare of Cuba 
207 


298 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 4 


at heart cherished that welfare far above any mere per- 
sonal or partisan ambitions. 

It would not be easy to imagine a man much more 
different from the first President of Cuba than his suc- 
cessor, the second President; though indeed the latter was 
a man of no mean record, especially in war. Jose Miguel 
Gomez was born in Sancti Spiritus on July 6, 1858. He 

agli there obtained his earlier edu- 

ea cation, which he continued at 

the Institute of Havana, taking 
his degree of Bachelor of Arts 
and Sciences in 1875. He 
joined the revolutionary forces 
shortly before the end of the 
/ Ye Ten Years’ War. When, after 
the Zanjon Peace, the struggle 
broke out afresh, in the Little 
JOSE MIGUEL GOMEZ War, Gomez took once more to 

the field and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. 
This outbreak having failed, he returned to his home and 
devoted himself to managing his father’s estate in Sancti 
Spiritus. When once more the Cuban patriots resumed 
their struggle for the cause of independence in 1895, he 
again answered thecalltoarms. The action of Manajato 
won for him the rank of Colonel and the command of the 
Sancti Spiritus brigade. He was subsequently promoted 
to Brigadier General and then to the rank of Division 
General, after the battle of Santa Teresa where he was 
wounded. By the year 1898 he was at the head of the 
first division of the Fourth Army Corps which operated 
in Santa Clara Province. In this command he figured 
in most of the battles fought in that section at the time. 
The capture of the supposedly impregnable ingenio Ca- 
nambo in the Trinidad Valley was one of the feats of 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 299 


this campaign. Also the attack and capture of Jibaro, a 
town defended by a strong contingent, and the operation 
of strategical importance conducted against Arroyo 
Blanco, are to the General’s credit in this campaign, in 
which he was effectively assisted by a remarkable staff 
of young men, who won a reputation for their capability 
and courage. When the Santa Cruz del Sur Assembly 
met, at the close of the war against Spain, General 
Gomez was elected to represent Santa Clara. Shortly 
after, he formed part of a delegation which was sent to 
Washington on a diplomatic mission. On his return to 
Cuba he was appointed Civil Governor of the Province 
of Santa Clara on March 14, 1899; which position he 
held until September 27, 1905, when he resigned, having 
been nominated as the candidate of the Liberal party for 
the Presidency. His years of office as Governor of Santa 
Clara were interrupted by his attending the sessions of 
the Constitutional Convention at Havana, as a delegate 
from Santa Clara. When General Gomez was defeated 
by President Estrada Palma, who ran for re-election, 
conspiracies and agitations were organized which cul- 
minated in the revolt of August, 1906, against Estrada 
Palma’s administration. Of this conspiracy and agita- 
tion Gomez was the organizer and leader. The Palma 
Government having proved its inability to quench the up- 
rising, the American authorities intervened, and at the 
close of that intervention, on January 28, 1909, Gomez 
was installed as President of Cuba. 

Of different type entirely, yet not unsuited to work 
with Jose Miguel Gomez whenever their mutual interests 
made cooperation desirable, was the new Vice-President, 
Dr. Alfredo Zayas. He too was a man of conspicuous 
record, in the War of Independence and afterward, 
though it had not been made on the field of battle. 


300 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Alfredo Zayas was born on February 21, 1861, and 
took his degree of licentiate in administrative law in 1882 
at the University of Havana, and the following year in 
civil and canonic law. He soon acquired a reputation as 
a lawyer and in the world of letters. During the War of 
Independence he was the delegate in Havana of the revo- 
lutionary party. His activities in this connection having 
been discovered, he was imprisoned in September, 1896, 
and was sent to Spain and incarcerated at several of the 
prisons of abe Spanish Government in Africa. After the 

Ss War of Independence, Dr. 
Zayas led an active political 
life. He was the founder and 
Secretary of the Patriotic Com- 
mittee, was a prominent mem- 
ber of the Constituent Conven- 
tion, of which he acted as 
Secretary, and was foremost in 
organizing and leading the ac- 
tivities of the National, Lib- 
eral-National and Liberal par- 
ties. He served as Senator from the Province of Ha- 
vana. He was one of the jurists who formed the Con- 
sultative Committee, appointed to draw up the organic 
laws of the executive and judicial powers, as well as the 
laws relating to the provincial and municipal institutions. 
At different times he occupied the posts of prosecuting at- 
torney, municipal judge, and sub-secretary of Justice. 
During the revolutionary movement which took place in 
1906 against the Estrada Palma administration, Dr. 
Zayas was president of the revolutionary committee. 
After the provisional administration which followed the 
fall of President Palma, he was elected to the Vice-Presi- 
dency of the Republic. 


DR. ALFREDO ZAYAS 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 301 


Dr. Zayas’s life in the world of letters is no less inter- 
esting. From 1890-93 he published various periodicals 
and collaborated in others. He has written several books 
on Cuban history and studies on the language of the 
primitive inhabitants of the Island, on bibliography, on 
questions relating to law and political economy, etc. He 
is a member of the Academy of History and for eleven 
years was President of the Sociedad Economica. 

The armed forces of the American government were 
of course withdrawn from Cuba on January 28, 1909, 
at the same time with the retirement of Governor Magoon 
and the second Government of Intervention, and the 
maintenance of order was left for a time entirely with the 
Rural Guard. That body of men had been very effi- 
cient during the American intervention and was consid- 
ered by many to be quite ample for all the military pur- 
poses of the island. During 1909, however, President 
Gomez decided to organize a permanent Cuban army. 
To the chief command of this he appointed his friend 
Pino Guerra. The organization consisted of a general 
staff, a brigade of two regiments of infantry of three bat- 
talions each, amounting to about 2,500 officers and men; 
two batteries of light field artillery and four batteries of 
mounted artillery, amounting to about 800 officers and 
men; a machine gun corps of four companies comprising 
500 officers and men; and a corps of coast artillery com- 
prising 1,000 officers and men. This force was trained 
and equipped under the direction of officers of the United 
States army who were borrowed for the purpose by the 
Cuban government. 

The administration of President Gomez was marked 
with the enactment of many new laws, and of the under- 
taking of a number of enterprises. One law granted am- 
nesty to all persons excepting those who had been con- 


302 «=—i(‘<(aiésrWHE|. HISTOR’ OFF Cee 


victed of certain peculiarly odious offenses. Another 
suspended the duty on the export of sugar, tobacco and 
liquors which nad been imposed by the former Palma ad- 
ministration. On the other hand an additional tax was 
imposed upon all imports. Early in the administration 
a perpetual franchise was granted for telephone service 
throughout the entire Island, an act which was severely 
criticized on the ground that the President himself was 
believed to derive pecuniary profit from it. Laws were 
also enacted in 1909, legalizing cock fighting and estab- 
lishing the national lottery. 

In 1910, the second year of this administration, Presi- 
dent Gomez began to manifest marked sensitiveness to- 
ward the criticisms which were made of his administra- 
tion, and on February 3, two editors were convicted of 
libelling him, because they had accused him of deriving 
profit from governmental activities, and they were sen- 
tenced to terms of imprisonment. In April, he appointed 
to a place in his cabinet Senor Morua, a negro, and the 
first member of that race to hold cabinet office in Cuba. 
In July an insurrection occurred in Oriente near the town 
of El Caney, which was suppressed by the Rural Guards 
with little difficulty. 

The active participation of government officers in party 
politics led to a disturbing incident at the beginning of 
August. At that time the Secretary of the Treasury, 
Senor Villegas, attended a convention of the Liberal 
party where he became involved in a violent quarrel. In 
consequence, the president ordered that thereafter no 
member of the Cabinet should be permitted to attend 
political meetings, or engage in active political work; 
whereupon Villegas resigned ‘his place in the Cabinet. 

In November, congressional elections were held to 
elect half of the members of the House of Representatives. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 303 


During the campaign the former quarrel in the Liberal 
party became acute. One faction started a violent agita- 
tion for the suppression of all religious orders in the 
Island, for the abolition of trusts in business, and for the 
prohibition of the holding of property in Cuba by foreign 
corporations. The other faction took for the chief plank 
in its platform the repudiation of the Platt Amendment. 
An attempt was also made by the negro members of the 
party to organize a third faction, comprising exclusively 
the members of their race. Because of these dissensions 
in the Liberal party the Conservatives made a somewhat 
better showing at the election than they had done in 1908, 
but the Liberals were generally successful and secured a 
majority in Congress. 

At the opening of the session, President Gomez urged 
revision of the tariff in order to provide fuller protection 
for certain manufacturing industries; the building of a 
new Palace of Justice; and the establishment at state ex- 
pense of public libraries in the chief cities. During this 
year an attempt was made to assassinate General Pino 
Guerra, but it was unsuccessful. The would-be assassin 
was arrested and Guerra professed to recognize in him 
an officer of the police who had had some grudge against 
him. Alfredo Zayas and Frank Steinhart, the former 
United States Consul General, also made public com- 
plaints of attempts to assassinate them, and reported the 
matter to the Supreme Court, but that tribunal declined 
to investigate their charges. An attempt was made to 
connect the attempted assassination of General Guerra 
with a bill pending before Congress, which provided that 
the head of the army should not be removed excepting for 
cause. It was said that this bill was strongly opposed 
by the Commander of the Rural Guards, and that he had 
in consequence incited the attempt to assassinate Guerra. 


304 + THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


There was much public discussion and agitation of this 
matter, but nothing practical resulted from it. 

Charges continued to be made increasingly of the profli- 
gacy and corruption of the Gomez administration. It 
was charged, doubtless with much truth, that the number 
of public offices and office holders had been unnecessarily 
multiplied to a scandalous extent for the sake of giving 
profitable jobs to the friends of Liberal leaders. It was 
also intimated that the Government had subsidized the 
press to suppress the truth concerning these and other 
charges, and thus to avoid an open scandal which might 
result in a third American intervention. Taxation was 
declared to be excessive and oppressive, amounting in 
some cases to as much as 30 per cent. of the value of the 
property. Other charges were that public offices, execu- 
tive, legislative and even judicial, were practically sold 
to the highest bidder for cash; that concessions for public 
utilities were similarly disposed of for the profit not of 
the public but of members of the Government, and that 
then extortionate prices were charged to the public for 
the service rendered; that the natural resources of Cuba 
were thus being parceled out to speculators for cash; 
that a bill purporting to be for the improvement of the 
ports had increased four-fold the expenses of those ports, 
for the enrichment of a speculative company, and that in 
general the functions of the government were being per- 
verted to the uses and the personal enrichment of a ring 
of Liberal politicians. 

As the date of the electoral campaign of 1912 drew 
near, the conduct of the administration became such as 
to incur the menace of another intervention. In Janu- 
ary of that year an arbitrary attempt was made by Presi- 
dent Gomez to thwart the activities and impair the in- 
fluence of the Veterans’ Association, by forbidding army 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 305 


officers and members of the Rural Guard to attend any of 
its meetings, on the pretended ground that they were en- 
gaged in factional political agitation. As the organiza- 
tion was in no sense a partisan affair, but was composed 
of men of varying shades of political opinion who had 
the good of Cuba at heart, and who strove to avert the 
danger of further intervention by making and keeping the 
Cuban government above reproach, this decree of the 
President’s was sharply resented and was openly dis- 
obeyed by many army officers. When on the evening of 
Sunday, January 14, 1912, many officers and Rural 
Guards attended a meeting of the National Council of 
the Veterans’ Association, and were received with much 
enthusiasm, the situation caused so much disquiet that the 
United States government felt constrained to send a note 
of warning to President Gomez, stating that it was much 
concerned over the state of affairs in Cuba; that the laws 
must be enforced and order maintained; and that the 
President of the United States looked to the President 
and government of Cuba to see to it that there was no 
need of a third intervention. 

This note evoked from President Gomez the declaration 
that matters in Cuba were not in as bad a state as had 
been reported, and that he had the whole situation well in 
hand. General Emilio Nunez, the head of the Veterans’ 
Association, declared that that organization would remain 
firm in its object to guarantee peace, to moralize the Ad- 
ministration, and to spread patriotism in the hearts of 
the people; and that it protested against that which might 
be a menace to the freedom and independence of Cuba, 
with confidence that the people of the United States would 
never regard its unselfish and patriotic campaign as an 
excuse for unwarranted intervention. He added that the 
Association had not sought to annul the law against par- 


306 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


ticipation in politics by the army, but resented the charge 
in the Presidents’ decree that it was “playing politics.” 
“‘Patriotically we shall make every sacrifice, but we shall 
never resign ourselves to be miserable slaves dominated 
by irresponsible power untrammelled by laws or prin- 
ciples.” 

The leaders of the Liberal party were by no means a 
unit in attitude toward the crisis, the antagonism already 
mentioned between President Gomez and Vice-President 
Zayas flaming up anew. ‘The newspaper organ of the 
Zayista faction openly declared: ‘‘We are on the brink 
of an abyss, whither we have been brought by the stub- 
born stupidity of a portion of the administration and by 
flagrant contempt for Congress and its enactments. 
These things have brought on all our existing ills.” 
Orestes Ferrara, Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives, much alarmed at the menace of intervention which 
might on this occasion have been as disastrous to the 
Liberals as the former intervention had been to the ad- 
ministration of Estrada Palma, declared that party differ- 
ences must be dropped and that ‘““‘We must resign our 
passions and ambitions to save Cuba from another shame- 
ful foreign domination.” 

Meantime the masses of thoughtful, patriotic citizens, 
disgusted with what they regarded as governmental ex- 
travagance and corruption, held themselves in admirable 
restraint, hoping that the peril of intervention would be 
in some way avoided until they could have an opportun- 
ity of permanently averting it through the election of a 
government which would give the United States no further 
cause for anxiety or for even a thought of resuming con- 
trol of Cuban affairs. The crisis was thus fortunately 
passed, and the settlement of the Cuban people with the 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 307 


administration of Jose Miguel Gomez was postponed, as 
was fitting, until the fall elections. 

There followed a little later another ominous incident, 
for which President Gomez was largely responsible, but 
which he repudiated ,and dealt with in an energetic and 
efficient manner. ‘The attempt, already referred to, at the 
organization of a negro party in the election campaign 
of 1910 was followed in May, 1912, by the outbreak of 
what seemed to be a formidable negro revolt. The lead- 
ers of this movement were two negro friends of Gomez, 
General Estenoz and General Ivonnet. They had been 
officers in the War of Independence, and it was said that 
Gomez had promised them and their negro followers 
great rewards if they would support him in his campaign 
for the presidency. When these promises were unful- 
filled, these two men went through the Island urging the 
negroes to organize a political party of their own, which 
- would probably hold the balance of power between the 
Conservatives and Liberals. Because of their violent 
agitation to this end they were arrested and imprisoned 
for a time. - Then they were released and treated with 
much consideration. Indeed, they were offered appoint- 
ment to offices, which, however, they declined. Instead, 
they renewed their agitation, and on Mav 22 an open 
revolt under their leadership occurred. So serious did 
the situation appear that an appeal was made to the 
United States Government, and preparations were actu- 
ally made to send a naval and military expedition to pro- 
tect the lives and property of Americans in the Island. 
President Gomez, however, rallied his military forces 
with much energy, and on June 14 completely routed the 
main body of the insurgents, capturing all their supplies 
of ammunition and provisions. This practically ended 


308 8 ‘THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the trouble. Estenoz was killed in the fighting, and 
Ivonnet was captured and then killed; “in an attempt to 
escape.” 

Another embarrassment for the passing administration 
occurred in August, 1912, when the United States gov- 
ernment called upon President Gomez to make prompt 
settlement of certain claims which had been pending for 
two years, amounting to more than $500,000, and grow- 
ing out of contracts for the waterworks and sanitation of 
the city of Cienfuegos. President Gomez protested that 
the Cuban treasury was without funds for the purpose, 
and that it would be necessary to wait until Congress 
could make a special appropriation. This reply was not 
convincing, seeing that payment of these identical claims 
had been made in a loan of $10,000,000 which the Cuban 
government had made in New York with the approval of 
the United States; and it was naturally assumed at Wash- 
ington either that the money had been spent for other pur- 
poses or that it was being purposely withheld by Presi- 
dent Gomez on some technicality or for some ulterior 
motive. 

As an incident of this controversy, in the closing days 
of August, the Liberal press of Havana conducted a cam- 
paign of vilification against Hugh S. Gibson, the Ameri- 
can Chargé d’Affaires in Cuba, which culminated in a 
personal assault upon that gentleman by Enrique Maza, 
a member of the staff of one of the papers. This out- 
rage provoked a sharp protest from the Washington gov- 
ernment, in terms which implied a menace of action if 
reparation were not made. This alarmed President 
Gomez, and caused him to make at least a show of punish- 
ing the offender, and to write a long message of apology 
and pleading to President Taft, in which he promised to 
deal with Maza and with the newspapers which had been 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 309 


slandering Mr. Gibson, to the full extent of the law, and 
begged for a reassuring statement of friendship from the 
United States government. Ultimately Maza was 
punished by imprisonment, and the penalty of the law 
was also applied to Senor Soto, the responsible editor of 
one of the papers which had most libelled the American 
Charge d’Affaires. The Cienfuegos claim was also paid; 
but because of it an attempt was made to enact a law ex- 
cluding all foreign contractors from participation in 
Cuban public works! 

The Presidential election occurred on November 1, and 
resulted, as we shall hereafter see, in assurance that the 
Liberal party would be retired from power in May of the 
following year, and that the government of the island 
would be confided to the hands of those who had striven 
to uphold the wise and patriotic administration of Es- 
trada Palma. In the few remaining months of his ad- 
ministration President Gomez pursued substantially the 
same policy that had marked the preceding years. In 
March, 1913, Congress enacted an Amnesty bill which 
would have meant a general jail delivery throughout the 
Island, and which President Gomez was strongly inclined 
to sign. He was restrained at the last moment from do- 
ing so, however, by the energetic protests of the United 
States government, which indeed were tantamount to an 
ultimatum; and instead returned the measure to Congress 
with his veto, and with a recommendation that it be re- 
vised so as to avoid the objections of the United States— 
though he did not directly mention the United States— 
and then repassed. This was done and the modified bill 
became a law at the middle of April. 

In addition to the general extravagance of the Gomez 
administration, the overcrowding of all government offi- 
ces with superfluous and incompetent placeholders, and 


si0 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the expenditure of more than $140,000,000 within two 
and a half years, there were several specific performances 
which provoked severe censure. One of these was the 
installation of the National Lottery, which was done by 
vote of Congress at the dictation of the President. The 
pretext given for this was that Cubans loved to gamble, 
and that if they had no lottery of their own they would 
send their money to Madrid, for chances in the lottery 
there; and it was better to keep their money in Cuba than 
to have it sent to Spain. 

Another act of the administration which incurred strong 
censure and which was ultimately repealed by the gov- 
ernment of President Menocal, with the approval of the 
courts, was what was commonly known as the “Dragado 
deal.” This was the granting to a speculative corpora- 
tion composed chiefly of Liberal politicians and called the 
Ports Improvement Company of Cuba, of an omnibus 
concession for the dredging of harbors, reclaiming of 
coastal swamp lands, and similar works; for which the 
corporation was authorized to collect port fees, including 
a heavy surtax on imported merchandise, of which a small 
proportion would go to the government and the remainder 
to the coffers of the corporation. This concession was 
granted by President Gomez in 1911, against the advice 
of the United States government, and against strong and 
widespread protests from the people and press of Cuba, 
by whom it was regarded as a monstrous piece of corrupt 
jobbery. While it was in force, this concession paid mil- 
lions of dollars a year to its holders, with an almost un- 
discernible minimum of advantage to the nation. 

Following this came a bargain with the railroads cen- 
tering in Havana, by which the arsenal grounds belong- 
ing to the Republic and comprising a large and valuable 
tract lying immedigtely on the Bay of Havana were given 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 311 


to those companies in exchange for two comparatively 
small plots which had been occupied by them as a ter- 
minal station and warehouse. In addition the railroad 
companies agreed to build, or to provide the money for 
building, a new Presidential Palace, which President 
Gomez hoped to have finished in time for his own occu- 
pancy. ‘This exchange was, in itself, undoubtedly a good 
thing. It gave the railroads an admirable site for the 
great terminal which they needed and which is now one 
of the valuable assets of Havana and indeed of Cuba. 
But the manner in which the bargain was made, the exer- 
cise of political influence, and the strong and unrefuted 
suspicion of the corrupt employment of pecuniary con- 
siderations, brought upon the transaction strong reproba- 
tion. An ironic sequel was that the work which was done 
on the proposed new palace was so bad that it presently 
had all to be torn down. 

Fortunately there was no relaxation in the maintenance 
of sanitary measures for the prevention of epidemics, 
and while there was little or no road building or other 
such public works those already constructed were gener- 
ally well maintained. The judgment of thoughtful and 
impartial men upon the administration of José Miguel 
Gomez was therefore that it had contained some good 
and much evil, and that even the good had been done too 
often in an unworthy if not an actually evil way. It had 
been the administration of an astute and not over-scrupu- 
lous politician, who sought to serve first his own interests, 
next those of his party and friends, and last those of the 
nation, and not that of an enlightened and patriotic states- 
man, seeking solely to promote the welfare of the people 
who had chosen him to be their chief executive. 


CHAPTER XVII 


Tue fourth Presidential campaign in Cuba began in 
the spring of 1912. The Liberal administration had 
given the nation a thorough taste of its quality, with the 
result that there was a strong reaction against it on the 
part of many who had been its zealous upholders. The 
compact between José Miguel Gomez and Alfredo Zayas 
was, however, carried out, the former not seeking re-elec- 
tion but standing aside in favor of the latter, who accord- 
ingly received the Presidential nomination at the conven- 
tion which was held on April 15. Before this, on April 
7, the Conservative convention by unanimous vote and 
with great enthusiasm nominated General Mario G. 
Menocal for President, and Enrique José Varona for 
President. ‘The campaign was conducted with much de- 
termination on both sides, but in a generally orderly 
fashion, and the election, which occurred on November 1, 
was also conducted in a creditable nianner. Although 
the Liberals had made extravagant claims in advance, the 
result of the polling was a decisive victory for General 
Menocal, who easily carried every one of the six prov- 
inces. This result was due in part to the popular revul- 
sion against the corruption of the Liberal administration, 
and partly to the immense popularity of the Conservative 
candidate and his admirable record as a useful public 
servant in various capacities. 

Mario G. Menocal, who was thus chosen to be the head 
of the Cuban Republic, came of an old Havana family, 


traditionally revolutionary, and was born in Jaguey 
312 


HAPTER XVII 


a 
ie 
tet 


Tee fourth Presidential campaign in Cuba. 
— the @ring of 1912. The Liberal administeal 
given the metion a thorough taste of its quali 
val there was a strong reaction agaihst 
who had been its.zealous upholder 
CUTMBACE DCt When Jose Migu ie] Go mez and Alfre 
was, however, carried MARIO 6. weno 
tion baicidaiadiceriaiidiie of the Republic’ of Cuba, 
QE LP page “bes — - aa the most. 


ty erica,» je J 4 
ne x2 544 mb ei "1866, oh "Sie ‘at Ce Come i 


“thang ‘became’ associated in prt 
» his-uncle, Aniceto G. Menocal, ithe distingui 
_. road engineer. He entered the. Mae ete 


rn ginning and served to the end with isti H 
- for the Presidency in 1908, but ee 


in 1916. His. ae is the history of Cuba‘for th 
ection, which occyrred on Nes vember | 
Ie = aa shad in a creditable m anner, Att 


md 


as wade ¢) xtravagant claims in. 

6, "naz Was a decisive vi ictory for 
carried every one of the six p 
1s due in part to the popula 

uption of the | Liberal administr 
mmense popularity of the Conse 
Ma 7 
of the ¢ ; 


traditic: 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 313 


Grande, Matanzas, in December, 1866. When his fam- 
ily emigrated, as a consequence of his father having 
taken part in the Ten Years’ War, Mario Menocal began 
his education in the United States. He was graduated at 
Cornell University with the Class of 1888 and took his 


BIRTHPLACE AND BOYHOOD HOME OF PRESIDENT MARIO G. MENOCAL, 
JAGUEY GRANDE, MATANZAS 


degree as Civil Engineer. No sooner was he graduated 
than his uncle, Aniceto G. Menocal, the distinguished en- 
gineer of the Isthmian Canals, summoned him to his side 
to work with him at Nicaragua. In 1893 he went to 
Cuba as engineer of a French Company to exploit a salt 
mine at Cayo Romano. He was working on the con- 
struction of the Santa Cruz railway in Camaguey when 
the War of Independence broke out in 1895. On June 
5 of that year he joined the forces of Commander Ale- 
jandro Rodriguez as a private. At the attack on Fort 
Ramblazo he was promoted to sergeant, and it was not 
long before his military talents had won for him the rank 
of Lieutenant Colonel. 

When the Revolutionary Government was constituted 
on September 15, 1895, Colonel Menocal was appointed 


314 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Assistant Secretary of War, and in that capacity assisted 
Generals Gomez and Maceo in organizing the “‘invasion” 
contingent. He later joined the Third Army Corps under 
Mayia Rodriguez, and remained with it until the begin- 
ning of 1896 when he was called by General Calixto 
Garcia, who had just reached the Island and who made 
Menocal his Chief of Staff. Thereafter his name was as- 
sociated with Garcia’s brilliant campaign in Oriente. 

Among the many battles in which Colonel Menocal took 
part were the hard-fought engagements of La Gloria, 
Bellezas, Moscones, Hierba de Guinea, and the great 
struggle at Guantanamo, in July, 1896, against two 
Spanish columns which were cut apart and were obliged 
to abandon the Ramon de las Yaguas zone. In August 
the agricultural regions of Holguin were invaded and the 
Loma de Heirro fort seized, artillery being used for the 
first time in the war. This feat caused his promotion to 

the rank of Colonel. He then was active in the Sierra 

Maestra Mountains to meet Mendez’s expedition. In 
October, Menocal seized Guaimaro, conducting person- 
ally the assault on Fort Gonfan, having captured which, 
he was made Brigadier General. 

In November, 1896, he took part in the battles of Alta 
Conchita and Lugones against Gen, Pando. Later he 
was present at the siege of Jiguani (April 13, 1897) and 
at Tuaheque, Jacaibama and Jucaibanita against Vara 
del Rey and Nicolas Rey, and at Baire he fought at the 
battle of Ratonera. It was at this time that Gen. Calixto 
Garcia made him Chief of the 3rd Division of the 2nd 
Corps, which included the western part of Holguin and 
Tunas. At the head of these forces he organized the at- 
tack and capture of Tunas, which was achieved by Gen. 
Calixto Garcia, August 30, 1897, Menocal having been 
wounded in a trench assault. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 315 


This strategic success won for him an immediate pro- 
motion to Division General. In November, 1897, he at- 
tacked Fort Guamo on the Cauto River, one of the blood- 
iest events of the war, and took part in the battles of 
Cayamos, Monte Oscuro, Nabraga and Aguacatones, 
succeeding in this latter in seizing Tejeda’s supply train. 

In March, 1898, he was appointed Chief of the Sth 
Army Corps, to join which he marched at the head of 200 
select men, among whom were many prominent figures 
of the war—many still alive—as General Sartorius, Col- 
onels Aurelio Hevea, Enrique Nunez, Federico Mendi- 
zabal, Pablo, Gustavo and Tomas Menocal, Rafael Pena, 
Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, Commander Manuel Seca- 
des, Miguel Coyula, Ignacio Weber, Alberto de Cardenas, 
Antonio Calzades and Domingo Herrera. With this 
brave contingent, and assisted by the forces of Gen. Agra- 
monte, Gen. Menocal passed the Trocha at its most dan- 
gerous point between Ciego de Avila and Jucaro. After 
a fifty days’ march from Holguin, they reached Havana, 
relieving Gen. Alejandro Rodriguez of his command as 
Chief of the 5th Army Corps. 

Gen. Menocal was in this command when the Ameri- 
can Intervention came, and cooperated with the American 
authorities in maintaining public order in Havana while 
the evacuation of the Spanish troops took place. Then 
General Ludlow appointed him Chief of the Havana 
Police, which body he organized, giving posts under him 
to the most distinguished chiefs of the Province of Ha- 
vana. In 1899 he was appointed Inspector of Light 
Houses and subsequently Inspector of Public Works, 
which offices he resigned to manage Central Chaparra, in 
June, 1899. 

It is difficult to speak without danger of apparent ex- 
aggeration of the incommensurable work of General 


316 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


Menocal at Chaparra, as a true “captain of industry.” 
There what were formerly barren fields have been trans- 
formed by something more than the touch of a magician’s 
wand into the greatest sugar-producing establishment in 
the world. Nor does it consist merely of the gigantic 
mills. Houses for homes, schools, stores, churches, sur- 
round it, forming a city of no fewer than 30,000 prosper- 
ous inhabitants, devoted to the manufacture of sugar. 
Of this unique community, General Menocal was the 
chief creator and for years the responsible head. Even 
it, however, did not monopolize his attention, for he or- 
ganized and managed also great sugar mills at San 
Manuel, Las Delicias, and elsewhere. 

In 1903 General Menocal was appointed by President 
Palma to be one of a Commission for the negotiation of a 
loan for the payment of the soldiers of the army in the 
War of Independence, together with Gonzalo de Quesada 
and D. Mendez Capote. Three years later he was con- 
spicuous and active in the Veteran movement which strove 
to avert the necessity of the second American intervention. 
In 1908, as we have seen, he was nominated for the 
Presidency, with Dr. Montoro for the Vice-Presidency, 
but was defeated. Again he was nominated for the 
Presidency, with Enrique José Varona as candidate for 
the Vice-Presidency, and was elected for the term of 
1913-1917; at the expiration of which he was reelected, 
with General Emilio Nunez as Vice-President. 

Enrique José Varona, who thus became Vice-President 
of Cuba in 1913, ranked as one of the foremost scholars 
and writers of the nation. He was born in Camaguey 
on April 13, 1849, and in early life adopted the career 
of a man of letters in addition to serving the public in 
political matters. He was at once an orator of rare elo- 
quence, a philosopher of profound learning, and a poet of 


Menseal, at Chap arra, as a true “ea ptait 
-. There what were formetfy barren ‘fields Tim 

formed by 

wand into” 


# 


i Wer 
ee | 7 
LLaLS ro 
+ 
CORTINA i, 


ous. Inhab 
r this “uniai 
“Poet, philosopher and. statesman, 
was born i in Camaguey i in 1349. Bi 
i, o had published a volume of ‘poems. 
» “Philosophical Lectures,”  Comatiien tariaas ai 
x £ veal Literature,” “The ¢ 
“ 


WV 


“dent | 


Mo oder ire,” 
Deputy from Cuba to t 
P view and Patria, ‘the’ latter iUeaR Sila 


— of Rheem ‘the ae mp Hovana.*! 


"THE p MISTORY OF | 


‘ 
ee, 
La 


Or nething more than the touchal 
he rreatest suga 1-producing as 


3 
5 
t 


\ does 
rey] he 
orming-a cit -wer than 30,¢ 


(tay fa 


ENRIQUE J suey «i 


er 
ef ‘Late aan 


; ~ Instruction. Pn the Governorship of Leon 
Presiden 


of the Republic during the first sonia ‘at 
ocal, in 1913-1917. - For many years he hi 


at 
cessity or tne s 


= ? 
iS W lave. : 
- ‘\ 1 
tn Dr VEO! 
: 4 H % Ti 
FETEARALEU mids 
VilJ al iquc 


P} lency, and wa 

it the expiration of which ae 

| Emilio Nunez a3 Vice-Presidentya 

losé Varona, who thus | De came Vice-P 
3 1913. ranked ag one of the fore -most sch 
re of the nation. He was born m= Camas 
13,1849, and in arly life adopis tha. gases 

f letters in idition to serving the: blic in 
matters.. He was ot once an orator of ri re ¢] lo: 
pl pher of profound | earning, and | a poet of 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 317 


exceptional charm. He served, before the War of Inde- 
pendence, as a Deputy in the Spanish Cortes from Cuba; 
he wrote the famous plea for Cuban independence en- 
titled “Cuba contra Espafia,” which was translated into a 
number of languages; and under the administration of 
General Wood was Secretary of Public Instruction and of 
the Treasury. He was once President of the Anthropolo- 
gical Society of Cuba, and was a Member of the Academy 
of History. He has written numerous books, comprising 
philosophical disquisitions, essays on nature and art, and 
lyrical poetry. 

Dr. Rafael Montoro, who was refused election to the 
Vice-Presidency in 1908, has since that date been kept in 
the service of his country in highly important capacities, 
and now, as Secretary to the Presidency, is most intimately 
associated with President Menocal, and exerts an excep- 
tional degree of usefulness in many directions to the na- 
tional welfare of the Cuban Republic. 

Rafael Montoro was born in Havana on October 24, 
1852. He received his primary education in Havana 
and in his tenth year was taken to Europe and to the 
United States. He was a pupil of the Charlier Institute 
in New York until 1865. Having returned to Havana 
he took up his preparatory studies at the school of San 
Francisco de Asis. In 1867 he returned to Europe with 
his family, which settled in Madrid. Here he spent his 
youth until 1878, devoting himself to literary and intellec- 
tual activities; he contributed to various periodicals, was 
editor of the “Revista Contemporanea’’; second secretary 
of the Ateneo de Madrid; vice president of the Moral and 
Political Sciences Section of that institution; second sec- 
retary of the Spanish Writers’ and Artists’ Association, 
etc. On his return to Cuba he took an active part in con- 
stituting and organizing the Liberal Party, which seized 


318 - THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the first opportunity to uphold the cause of Colonial 
Autonomy, calling itself the Autonomist Liberal Party. 
In 1879 he was elected a member of the Central Junta of 
the party and in the first elections after Cuba had been 
granted the right of representation at the Cortes took 
place, he was elected a Deputy from the province of Ha- 
vana. Later he continued working for his party as editor 
of its organ El Triunfo, which became El Pais, and 
as an orator in meetings and assemblies. In 1886 he was 
reelected Deputy to the Cortes from the province of Cama- 
guey and yearly went to Spain during the period of the 
Legislature, being a member of the Autonomist minority 
headed by Rafael Maria de Labra. The Sociedad Eco- 
nomica de Amigo del Pais appointed Dr. Montoro a 
Special Delegate to the Junta de Informacion which met 
at Madrid in 1890, the principal economic institutions of 
Cuba having been previously invited by the Spanish 
Colonial Department. The purpose of this Junta was to 
report on the tariff régime of the Island and on the pro- 
posed commercial treaty with the United States, as sug- 
gested by the famous McKinley Bill of 1890. Towards 
the middle of 1895 he returned to his activities in Havana 
as editorial writer of El Pais and member of the Central 
Junta of the Party. 

When autonomy was granted in 1898, he formed part, 
as Secretary of the Treasury, of the Cabinet organized by 
José Maria Galvez, the head of the party since its foun- 
dation in 1878. When Spanish rule came to an end, as a 
consequence of the war and of the American intervention, 
and the Autonomist Government ceased, Dr. Montoro re- 
tired to private life. In 1900 and 1901 he was appointed 
to but did not accept the professorship of philosophy and 
history in the University of Havana. He was a member 
of the Committee which was to undertake the reform of 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 319 


the Municipal suffrage legislation under Governor 
Brooke and of the Committee charged by General Wood 
with the revision of the legislation on the importation 
tariff. 

In 1902 Dr. Montoro was appointed by the Palma 
administration as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. In 1904 he 
was appointed also Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
Plenipotentiary in Germany, which caused him to reside 
alternately in both countries until 1906 when he was ap- 
pointed with Gonzalo de Quesada and Gonzales Lanuza 
a delegate of the Republic to the Third Pan-American 
International Conference held at Rio de Janeiro. In the 
same year he was confirmed in both his posts, at London 
and Berlin, by Governor Magoon, as were the other mem- 
bers of the diplomatic and consular corps, but later he was 
appointed a member of the Consultive Committee on 
Laws. In 1907 he was one of the founders of the Na- 
tional Conservative Party, of which he was appointed 
second vice-president, and was nominated as the Party’s 
candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the Republic, with 
General Menocal as Presidential candidate. 

When General Jose M. Gomez took possession of the 
Government as President, Dr. Montoro was confirmed 
in his posts as Minister at Berlin and London, returning 
to Europe to remain there until 1910, in which year he 
was appointed by President Gomez a delegate to the 
Fourth Pan-American International Conference, which 
took place at Buenos Aires. At this Conference he was 
elected to preside over the seventh section of Consular 
documents, Tariff regulations, Census and Commercial 
Statistics. 

In 1910 and 1911, respectively, he ceased his posts as 
Minister at Berlin and London to become Diplomatic Ad- 


320 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


visor of the State Department. In 1913 he was appointed 
Secretary of the Presidency under General Menocal to 
which post he gave an importance which it had lacked 
theretofore. In this capacity he still is an assiduous and 
valuable collaborator of the Menocal Administration. 

Of Dr. Montoro’s writings the following have been col- 
lected in book form: ‘Political and Parliamentary 
Speeches; Reports and Dissertations” (1878-1893), 
Philadelphia, 1894. ‘Elements of Moral and Civic In- 
struction” (1903). 

Dr. Montoro is a member of the National Academy 

of Arts and Letters of which he was elected Director in 
1812. He was President of the Executive Committee at 
Havana of the 2nd Pan-American Scientific Congress 
(1915) and was a member of the High Committee for 
Cuba of the Pan-American Financial Congress (1917) 
and of the American Institute of International Law 
(1916). 
_ President Menocal gathered about himself a Cabinet 
of representative Cubans, selected for their ability rather 
than on grounds of personal favor or political advan- 
tage; two of them, the Secretaries of Justice and Educa- 
tion, being members of the Liberal party. The places 
were filled as follows: 

Secretary of Government, Cosimo de la Torriente. 

Secretary of the Interior, Aurelio Hevea. 

Secretary of the Treasury, Leopoldo Cancio. 

Secretary of Health and Charities, Enrique Nunez. 

Secretary of Justice, Cristobal de la Guardia. 

Secretary of Agriculture, Emilio Nufez. 

Secretary of Public Works, José Villalon. 

Secretary of Education, Ezequiel Garcia. 

The spirit in which the new President began his work, 
and the spirit which animated his associates in the gov- 


e 


2990715 


oF 


2 


che nae Department. 8 918 z: 
Secretary of the Presidency under-Ge 
whick poste gave an importance whi 
theretofore: ~~ In this-ca BEACET he stilbis 
Valuable « ail borator of the Menocal Adn 
Gt Dr, Moniero's writings the following 
jected in baok- forniz “Pobtical ang 
Reports: and Dissertations” 


47 


i304 —“Plements of Mors 


rox os rts any wis h he ce i - 
: ; see. x “eit at ais, pt RGuive C 


ud y Cabrera 

ie rentat lar,” 
the public life of Cail! as iy ecb 
diplomat, administrator, and- et cans 


The record of his. services to Cuba, as Am ( 
st courts of Europe, as Secretary to the Preside 
distinguished capacities * ome and abroad, 
passage elsewhere in this ory ‘of Cuba. 


of repre entative .C ubans, selected for 


n, 
being members of the I Liberal pattyen 


, ee 
secretary of <(overnment Cosini i de la Te : 
éi the Intetior, — Sits. Heveas z 

7 far et the Tres 133 ury, OP dda t (“Ai ye 
tary of Health and ay aries. E 
Serrefary of Tustice Cristobal de ta = LI 
Sactetary of Agriculture; Emitie Nut 
fury of Public-Works, fosé-¥ iting on 

vy of Education, Ez sae yarclas 


The enirit‘in which thenew-President.t 
wh animaterl hrs as 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 321 


ernment, was admirably expressed by him soon after his 
election and before his inauguration, in a frank, informal 
but very serious personal conversation. ‘What,” he was 
asked, “does Cuba need? And what do you expect to 
accomplish as her President?” = 

“Cuba,” replied General 
Menocal, ‘‘needs an honest 
administration of its govern- 
mental affairs; and that is 
what I can give it and will 
give it. But more than that, 
Cuba needs more citizens anx- 
ious to develop its marvel- 
lous resources and fewer cit- 
izens anxious to hold office. Be ee En re 
I was not elected as a politician, and I have no ambition 
to succeed as a politician.” 

Reference being made to the menace of revolution, 
President Menocal said, with emphasis: 

“There will be no revolution under my administration. 
There may be outbreaks headed by disappointed politi- 
cians or military adventurers, but they will be crushed and 
their leaders will be punished. The day is past when 
men of this class can arrest the orderly processes of gov- 
ernment. I shall have back of me not only a loyal army, 
but also a loyal people who are determined to show to 
the United States and to the world that Cuba realizes 


DR. JUAN GUITERAS 


One of the foremost physicians and scientists of Cuba, Dr. Juan Guiteras 
is the son of the distinguished educator Eusebio Guiteras, and was born at 
Matanzas on January 4, 1852. He collaborated with Dr. Carlos J. Finlay in 
the discovery and demonstration of the transmission of yellow fever by mos- 
quitoes, and contributed much to the eradication of that and other pes- 
tilences from Cuba. Under President Menocal’s administration he was made 
Director of Sanitation. He was a delegate to the second Pan-American 
Scientific Congress at Washington in 1916. 


322 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


her responsibilities and is capable of self-government. 
I shall appoint honest men, and will guarantee that they 
honestly administer their duties. I shall urge the pas- 
sage of honest taxation laws, and have faith that the peo- 
ple will respond by electing men who will assist me to 
make Cuba worthy of the favors which God has lavished 
upon her.” 

With such purposes and with such expectations he en- 
tered upon his great work. Unfortunately there was not 
a majority upon which he could depend in Congress to 
enact the measures which were needed for the welfare of 
Cuba. Indeed, there was a hostile majority, as we shall 
see, which deliberately set itself to embarrass and thwart 
him in his undertakings. But that had merely the effect 
which obstacles usually have upon men who are really 
brave and strong. It indeed made his work more diffi- 
cult, but it did not turn him from his purpose nor defeat 
his efforts. Rather did it give him all the greater credit 
and honor, to have achieved so much in the face of so 
much opposition. 

General Mario G. Menocal became President and 
Senor Enrique Jose Varona became Vice-President of 
Cuba on May 20, 1913, the tenth anniversary of the es- 
tablishment of the independent Cuban Government. The 
President delivered his first message to Congress on the 
following day. It was an eminently practical, statesman- 
like and businesslike document, in which he modestly 
promised a wise and prudent administration of his office, 
and especially an immediate reform of the finances of the 
Government, which was notoriously much needed. As a 
small beginning of this reform, he offered to do away 
with the usual appropriation of $25,000 for Presidential 
secret service. Many debts had been left over by the 
former administration and he purposed to address him- ~ 


i 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 323 


self to the liquidation of these, so far as they had been 
honestly contracted. The notorious Dragado concession 
was repealed on August 4, and a commission was ap- 
pointed to investigate the methods of the company. Asa 
result of this and other investigations, the former Secre- 
tary of Public Works, and Auditor were indicted for mis- 
appropriation of public funds, and various other officers 
were prosecuted. 

The President desired to obtain a loan of $15,000,000 
with which to pay off the debts which had been left to him 
by his predecessor, and also for urgent road work, and 
the paving and sewering of the streets of Havana. This 
was, however, refused him by Congress, and that body, 
under the domination of the Liberals, refused to pass 
any budget whatever. President Menocal was therefore 
compelled to declare the budget of the preceding year still 
in force, pending the adoption of new financial provisions. 
Hoping to persuade or to compel Congress to perform its 
constitutional duty, he called that body together in special 
session in July and again in October, but on both occa- 
sions the Liberals all absented themselves and thus pre- 
vented the securing of a quorum. ‘These, it will be ob- 
served, were similar to the tactics which the same party 
in Congress had employed against President Palma in 
their malignant campaign for the overthrow of his ad- 
ministration. But President Menocal was not thus to be 
overthrown. When the Liberals in October, a second 
time, refused to perform their duty he issued a manifesto 
in which he seriously criticized them and made it plain 
that no such methods would be permitted to interfere with 
the legitimate work of Government. Rumors were in- 
deed current that he would resort to compulsion if persua- 
sion failed. The Liberals attempted to reply with a 
countermanifesto protesting against his action as a 


324 - THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


usurpation of congressional authority, declaring their 
opposition to the making of the proposed loan, and pre- 
tending that it would be illegal to hold the special session 
which he had called for October. 

The President exercised patience and waited until No- 
vember 2, when the regular session of Congress opened, 
and the Liberals took their seats. At this time the Liber- 
als practically stultified themselves by agreeing to discuss 
and finally to approve the loan project which they had 
formerly opposed. After transacting this and some other 
business, Congress adjourned in December. 

Among the reforms which President Menocal promptly 
undertook to effect was the abolition of the national lot- 
tery which had been established during the Gomez ad- 
ministration. In his messages and through the influence 
of all legitimate presidential influence he strove to abolish 
this form of legalized gambling. His arguments were 
that the low price of the tickets, only 25¢, and the appeal 
which was thus made to the poor and ignorant, to servants 
and working women as well as to men, had caused great 
injury and had brought about a certain degree of moral 
decline among the masses of the people. It had induced 
many individuals to borrow money and even to steal in 
order to purchase lottery tickets, in the delusive hope of 
winning one of the large prizes, which ran up to $100,000, 
and thus exempting themselves from the necessity of work 
for the rest of their lives. The lottery, it is true, yielded 
a considerable revenue each year for the government, but 
General Menocal regarded this as far more than counter- 
balanced by the social and moral evil which it wrought, 
and by the reproach which it brought upon the good name 
of the Republic. He was unable, however, to persuade 
Congress to abolish it, partly because of the popular love 
of gambling which so largely pervades Latin American 


THE HISTORY) OF) CUBA o25 


countries, and partly—perhaps chiefly—because the 
privilege of selling tickets at wholesale, at a handsome 
profit, was farmed out to many members of Congress. 

At the beginning of his administration, President 
Menocal found all the Government offices crowded with 
the appointees of the former administration. A great 
many of them were entirely superfluous and a great many 
of them were also entirely incompetent to fill their places. 
There was, therefore, a considerable clearing out of place- 
holders. There might have been, of course, what is 
known in America as a “‘clean sweep,” and this was urged 
by a few of the President’s friends. But General Meno- 
cal would listen to no such proposition. A Civil Service 
law had indeed been formulated by the Consulting Com- 
mission presided over by General Crowder, and had been 
in force since 1907, and while an unscrupulous executive 
might have evaded its provisions, General Menocal was a 
believer in the merit system, and in secure tenure of office 
for men who were doing their duty. He therefore refused 
positively to remove a single man merely because of his 
political affiliations. So far as placeholders were dis- 
missed, they were dismissed because of incompetence or 
dishonesty, or because their services were superfluous. 
As a result of this enlightened policy, it is true, President 
Menocal was compelled to conduct his administration 
through the agency of a staff, the majority of which was 
composed of his political opponents. He even appointed 
two Liberals to his cabinet, while nearly all the foreign 
ministers and consuls and important officers of the vari- 
ous departments were members of that party, holding over 
from the Gomez administration. It cannot be said that 
this policy was in all cases appreciated by those who 
personally profited from it, for some of these officeholders 
did not scruple to engage in intrigues against the Presi- 


326 - THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


dent whose generosity retained them in their places. 

The United States Government retained a certain super- 
vision over some of the acts of the Cuban Government. 
Thus, as hitherto stated, in March, 1913, an amnesty bill 
had been passed at the instance of the Gomez administra- 
tion, which would have set at liberty several hundred poli- 
tical and other prisoners, but it was objected to by Mr. 
Bryan, the Secretary of State of the United States, and was 
accordingly vetoed. It was again passed in a modified 
form on April 25, and was again similarly vetoed. In 
November, 1913, it was once more taken up and revised 
so as to extend the pardon to those who had participated 
in the negro insurrection, and to some former officeholders 
of the Gomez administration who had been indicted. It 
was also intended that it should extend amnesty to Gen- 
eral Ernesto Asbert, Governor of the Province of Havana, 
to Senator Vidal Morales, and to Representative Arias, 
who had been indicted for the murder of the Chief of 
Police of Havana, General Armando Riva; a tragedy 
which occurred during a police raid on a club, on the eve- 
ning of July 7. This attempt to extend amnesty to these 
men caused an acute and prolonged controversy. But on 
December 9, 1914, the bill was finally passed in a form 
which granted amnesty to General Asbert, but not to 
Senator Arias. In this form the United States Govern- 
ment sanctioned its enactment because of the belief that 
the real burden of guilt rested upon the latter rather than 
upon the former. 

This controversy over amnesty to General Asbert mean- 
while had serious political effects in Cuba. For a time 
the so-called Asbert faction of the Liberal party allied 
itself with the Conservatives in Congress in support of 
President Menocal and thus gave him a majority in that 
body. But in the summer of 1914 this faction became 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 327 


reunited with the rest of the Liberal party, and Conserva- 
tive control of Congress was lost. The Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, Senor Gonzales Lanuza, a 
Conservative, resigned and was succeeded by Senor 
Urquiaga, a Liberal, on August 31. When at last in 
February, 1915, the act of amnesty for General Asbert 
was completed, and he was released and fully rehabili- 
tated, there was a great popular celebration of the event 
in the City of Havana. 

The first attempt at insurrection in President Menocal’s 
administration occurred on November 9, 1913, when 
Crecencio Garcia, a mulatto, undertook to lead a revolt 
in the province of Santa Clara. It was promptly sup- 
pressed by the Rural Guard in a manner which augured 
well for the promise which the President had made, that 
there would be no revolutions during his administration; 
and there were no more such attempts until the great trea- 
son of ex-President Gomez. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE fifth Presidential campaign of the Republic of 
Cuba occurred in 1916. The Conservative candidate 
for President was General Mario G. Menocal, who was 
thus seeking reelection, and the candidate for Vice-Presi- 
dent was General Emilio Nunez, of whom we have al- 
ready heard as the leader of the 
Veterans’ Association in its legit- 
imate and orderly resistance to 
the corruption and despotism of 
the Gomez administration, who 
_ had had a distinguished career in 
77 the Liberating Army in the War 
1/72, Of Independence, and who was at 

VE this time serving as Secretary of 

We Agriculture, Industry and Com- 

Ye; merce in the cabinet of President 

GEN. D. EMILIO NUNEZ = Menocal, On the lipenamnente 
in accordance with the compact formerly made between 
him and José Miguel Gomez, the Presidential candidate 
was Dr. Alfredo Zayas, and the Vice-Presidential candi- 
date was Carlos Mendieta, a journalist and Representa- 
tive in Congress, who had long been conspicuous in the 
practical management of the Liberal Party. 

The general prosperity which Cuba had been enjoying 
under the administration of President Menocal excited 
the envy and cupidity of the Liberal place-seekers and 
roused them to extraordinary efforts to regain possession 


of the government. A shameless attempt was made to 
328 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 329 


force a bill through Congress disqualifying a President 
for reelection unless he resigned his office at least sixty 
days before the election; but it failed of success. Long 
in advance of the actual contest a vigorous propaganda 
was started all over the island on lines similar to those 
which had been successful in causing the overthrow of 
Estrada Palma. While few ventured to asperse the 
character of President Menocal himself, his administra- 
tion was vilified as corrupt and inefficient. It was 
charged that he did not, like Gomez, “‘divide the spoils” 
with his party followers, that he was both selfish and 
weak, and that his fatal weakness in office had been more 
than amply demonstrated, and would justify them in 
overthrowing his government. The Liberal newspapers 
asserted that at least three quarters of the inhabitants of 
the island were not in sympathy with the Conservative 
position and with the President, but had been deluded into 
voting for him; that they did not approve of his persistent 
acquiescence in every little hint and suggestion that might 
come from the United States; and that having been 
graduated from an American University, he was more 
American in his ideas and ideals than he was true Cuban, 
and deserved defeat at the next election. 

This was largely for the purpose of preparing the pub- 
lic for the claim, which was made before the polls had 
been open two hours, that the Liberals were sweeping the 
country, and that the Conservatives could make no pos- 
sible or effective showing in the election. In pursuance 
of this propaganda, it was so arranged that the local 
boards of the larger towns and cities, where there was an 
excess of the rank and file of the Liberal party, should 
rush in their returns. These records were sent in imme- 
diately and seemed to indicate a sweeping victory for the 
Liberal party. The country districts, where were regis- 


330 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


tered the votes of the farmers, the sugar planters, and the 
people of property who believed in work and the main- 
tenance of law and order, being remote from the capital, 
came in much later, and in many instances, owing to dis- 
tance and the uncertainty of travel, reliable returns from 
these districts were delayed until the next day, so that at 
midnight it looked as though the election had been car- 
ried by the Liberal party. On the following day, how- 
ever, as the returns began to arrive from the remote dis- 
tricts, a decided change in the aspect of the situation be- 
came apparent, and by that night it was seen that a very 
closely contested election had taken place, and that the 
result would probably be in doubt, as it was in the United 
States, for several days. 

This delay gave occasion for charges and accusations 
of fraud on both sides, and each prepared itself for a hard 
struggle. It was discovered that the matter would have 
to be settled by electoral boards and courts established 
for that purpose. In the meantime, the Liberals de- 
manded that General Menocal acknowledge his defeat 
and proclaimed the election of Dr. Zayas on all sides, 
and openly demanded to have the government immedi- 
ately turned over to them, or there would be serious trouble 
in store for the Conservatives and the country. In the 
meantime, pressure was brought to bear on the United 
States government, and protection was asked by the 
Liberals against the manifest danger that they would be 
cheated of their success at the polls. Threats were also 
heard that a revolution would undoubtedly follow as a 
protest against the usurpation, as it was termed, of their 
legitimate right to take control of the government, and 
Dr. Alfredo Zayas, in a private conversation with the 
American minister, hinted at this, and predicted that if a 
revolution should become necessary, it would undoubtedly 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 331 


be successful, since he knew that two-thirds of the army 
was with him in sympathy, and would follow the Liberal 
command to overthrow the Menocal government if he 
should see fit to give such a command. 

General Menocal stated very frankly that the deter- 
mination of the contest must be left to the local boards and 
to the courts for decision, and whatever that might be, re- 
gardless of any injustice that might be imposed upon him 
and his party, he would acquiesce, and would be the first 
man to shake the hand of the successful candidate. A 
similar statement was never made by the Liberals. They 
continued the cry of fraud, and openly stated that if they 
did not succeed a revolution would follow. The judges 
of the courts, excepting the chief justice of the Supreme 
Court, Senor Pichardo, had been appointed by Gomez, 
and naturally great pressure was brought to bear on them 
to ‘‘save the constitution,” as it was called, for the Liber- 
als. In the decisions that followed, the Conservatives 
stated frankly that they believed this pressure was pro- 
ducing manifestly unfair decisions, but made at no time 
any attempt to ignore them or set them aside. 

The court decided that in two districts, Victoria de las 
Tunas, in the province of Oriente, and another town in 
Santa Clara, new elections must be held. In the first one 
the Liberals had, at four o’clock in the morning previous 
to the day of election, set fire to the town hall, burning all 
of the electoral lists, so that an election was absolutely 
impossible. ‘This was probably due to the fact that Vic- 
toria de las Tunas held General Menocal in great esteem, 
since, owing to his personal valor in leading the charges 
against the Spanish army, when in command of that 
town, the Cubans had been victorious. In the city of 
Santa Clara province, the frauds claimed by both sides 
rendered it so impossible to determine the true result of 


332 - THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


the election that a second election was deemed necessary. 
According to the records of the Liberal party, the vote of 
these two towns, or possibly either one of them, would 
determine the election, and Dr. Alfredo Zayas felt quite 
confident that he would be the successor of General Meno- 
cal, and openly so stated. 

The Conservatives, on the other hand, said, “We can 
only await and abide by the decisions of the courts, and 
will surrender nothing until such decisions are handed 
down.” The supporters of Dr. Zayas stated that the 
soldiers, who had been sent there to maintain order, had 
been sent there for the sole purpose of preventing the 
Liberals from approaching the polls. At this General 
Nunez, the Vice Presidential candidate, invited Dr. 
Zayas, the Liberal leader, to accompany him thither and 
to point out any Liberal in that district who wished to 
vote, promising that he would furnish a machine and any 
protection that might be necessary to see that he and every 
Liberal in the district deposited his vote, and that they 
together would witness the count. 

Dr. Zayas never had an opportunity to bring this matter 
to a decision, owing to the fact that General Gomez, who 
hated Dr. Zayas bitterly, and who had opposed him in 
public print more strongly than any other man, saw im- 
mediately the possibility of riding into power as the man 
of the hour, as the real, dominating force of the republic, 
and as the only man, as he expressed it, able to save the 
electoral campaign from becoming one of protracted dis- 
cord and dispute. So he forbade Dr. Zayas to go to the 
town where the election was to be held, or to accept Gen- 
eral Nufiez’s invitation, and stated that he was himself 
tired of the whole thing, and that he was going to take 
his yacht and go on a fishing trip, which he did, leaving 
at midnight with about thirty trusted friends, including 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 333 


all of the prominent Liberal leaders. Passing around 
Cape San Antonio, the yacht anchored off the coast near 
Tunas de Zaza, and there met a group of men by previous 
arrangement, and started a revolution or a “popular up- 
rising,” as he termed it, against the Menocal government. 

In the meantime, a carefully laid plot, that had been 
planned months before, for seizing control of the armed 
forces of the island was put into execution. On Saturday 
night, February 14, 1917, without warning, two com- 
panies of men stationed at the Columbia barracks, at a 
previously arranged signal of two shots, jumped from 
their beds, grabbed their arms and ammunition, and 
started across the parade ground for the open country, 
of the west. Although the details of this plot were 
known, other loyal companies at the command of their 
officers were called into immediate action, charged the 
Liberals and captured more than half of them and killed 
a few of the remainder, who at first had succeeded in 
escaping. This was the only apparent disloyalty in the 
western end of the island. Matanzas, Pinar del Rio 
and Havana remained loyal to the government. Among 
the forces stationed at the City of Santiago, far removed 
from the immediate control of the commanding generals 
of the army, seeds of sedition, which consisted largely 
of promises of immediate promotion of all officers, were 
planted. Every sergeant was to be made a captain, every 
captain a colonel, every lieutenant a major, with promises 
of increased pay, and the incidental rewards that come 
to the successful revolutionist. This was also true of 
the Province of Camaguey, where, at almost the same 
hour that the uprising took place in Camp Columbia bar- 
racks, several companies of men seized control, made 
prisoners of their comrades who were loyal to the govern- 
ment or shot them dead, captured and imprisoned the civil 


334 - THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


governors, intimidated the police, or made them prisoners, 
and took charge of the customhouse and the accumulated 
funds, and all moneys deposited in banks, belonging to 
either the state or the federal government. Incidentally 
all moneys that were accessible were seized at the same 
time, which belonged to said banks, on the ground that 
there was no time to discriminate. In the City of Santi- 
ago several millions of dollars were thus seized by the 
three or four Liberal leaders in command. ‘These men, 
when the failure of the revolution became apparent, 
escaped from the island, carrying some two or three mil- 
lions in United States currency and Cuban gold with 
them, and landed in Santo Domingo, where some of them 
were afterward captured, while the others escaped to the 
United States. 

Securing control of Santiago de Cuba, and having ac- 
cess to the cables, the rebels immediately wired to the 
revolutionary headquarters in New York, which had been 
established by Dr. Orestes Ferrara, one of the moving 
figures in the previous uprising of 1906, in company with 
Dr. Raimundo Cabrera, for the dissemination of news 
favorable to the Liberal side. Matter was issued, to be 
used in the American papers, for the purpose of preparing 
the United States for the usurpation of the government of 
Cuba by General Gomez, and defending such action on 
the ground that it was the only solution of a bad electoral 
muddle, and that the real choice of the people was General 
Gomez, who should have been, and was ultimately, the 
leader of their party. It was said that Dr. Zayas, with- 
out justification, had usurped and endeavored to main- 
tain the permanent control of the Liberal party, and that 
his lack of popularity had been indicated by his defeat 
four years before. The entire island was represented, 
and especially the army, as having voluntarily gone over 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 335 


to the side of the Liberals. General Gomez was pic- 
tured as having landed and by previous arrangement 
placed himself at the head of 12,000 men, who were 
marching upon the City of Havana; while the President 
of the republic was variously reported as having been 
shot, and afterward as having fled in abject fear from 
the palace, and as having at last found shelter in the 
home of the American minister, Mr. William E. Gonza- 
les. It was added that Havana was under the control 
of the Liberals, as was the remainder of the island, and 
that all that was necessary was the triumphant march 
of General Gomez into the capital, where he would as- 
sume authority as Liberal Dictator until the island should 
assume its normal and peaceful condition, when another 
election would be called, in which the people would have 
an opportunity to choose and place the power in the 
hands of the only real man of destiny, General Gomez. 

In the Province of Camaguey, the insurgents followed 
the same program as did those in Oriente, intimidating 
the police, by firing two volleys into police headquarters 
and assassinating those men who were forming a council, 
the civil government and various other officers having 
been imprisoned. ‘They took immediate control of the 
railroads, and the rolling stock, placed Liberal or disloyal 
troops on trains, and started them across the border to 
Santa Clara, where they joined General Gomez, who, 
with his men, was marching north to the railroad. 

In the meantime, General Menocal and the loyal troops 
of the island, in the west, started a vigorous campaign to 
prevent the island from falling into the hands of the 
rebels. Officers whose loyalty was beyond question were 
placed in command of troops, and sent at once into Santa 
Clara, Camaguey and Oriente, and one of Cuba’s gun- 
boats, with a company of 300 men, was dispatched to the 


336 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


City of Santiago de Cuba, to drive the disloyal element 
from that place. Colonel Pujol was sent to take measures 
to restore order in Camaguey. Colonel Collazo and 
Lieutenant Colonel Lozama and other officials known for 
their courage, efficiency and valor were placed in com- 
mand of three separate bodies of troops, with orders to 
surround Gomez, and give him and his supporters imme- 
diate battle, and capture or annihilate them. These men 
were equipped with machine guns, well armed and pre- 
pared for a campaign of extermination, if necessary. In 
the meantime, the Secretary of Government, Colonel 
Hevea, who, according to the Cuban law has control over 
and is responsible for order in the interior districts, trav- 
eled by locomotive and automobile, day and night, report- 
ing to the President all that occurred, and giving those 
orders which seemed wise for suppressing the uprising. 
The American Minister, representing the sentiment of the 
United States, which seriously deprecated Cuba’s falling 
into the revolutionary habit, visited the palace every day, 
with his military aide, then Major Wittemeyer, kept in 
close touch with Washington, and reported every change 
in the drama that was being presented in Cuba. In the 
meantime, one of the Cuban officials had effectively 
thwarted General Gomez in his proposed triumphant 
march into Havana, by blowing up the large bridge over 
the Zaza river, thus preventing the insurrectionists from 
gaining control of the railroads in the western half of 
the island. 

Realizing the grave danger that threatened Cuba in the 
destruction of the cane through fire, which had already 
begun on a large scale, and in the stealing, and killing 
of both cattle and horses on the part of the insurrection- 
ists, Major Wittemeyer, with the authority of the War De- 
partment in Washington, communicated to President 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 337 


Menocal the fact that the United States government would 
gladly land whatever force was deemed necessary to as- 
sist in the maintenance of order and the protection of 
property. This offer the President refused, stating that 
he believed that there was a sufficient force absolutely 
loyal to his government to control the situation, adding 
that he was thoroughly aware of the plans of the Liberals, 
that he was in close touch with his own command and was 
confident that his officers would succeed in quelling the 
insurrection in a comparatively short time. He added 
that he thought it wise for the government of Cuba to 
demonstrate its ability to maintain itself, and to suppress 
any uprising that might occur of that nature, and thus 
avoid the rather unpleasant task, on the part of the United 
States, of being compelled to interfere with the personal 
and political affairs of their sister republic. 

That General Menocal’s prediction was based on 
sound logic was demonstrated by the fact that within 
twenty-three days the forces of ex-President Gomez were 
surrounded, defeated and captured. The General, his 
son, his aides and his entire staff were taken prisoners 
and brought to Havana and placed in the penitentiary on 
Principe Hill. In General Gomez’s saddle bags were 
found military orders instructing his chiefs to burn every 
sugar plantation on the Island not known to be the prop- 
erty of Liberals, and tear up every mile of railroad, to- 
gether with information demonstrating that he was pre- 
paring to blow up every bridge through the island, thus 
attempting to prevent the government from sending forces 
against him. This work of destruction, in so far as pos- 
sible before the capture, had been carried out to the letter. 
The railroads along which the revolutionists had control 
were out of commission for several months, and much 
valuable property was destroyed. 


338 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


The disappointment in the Liberal ranks consequent 
upon the capture of General Gomez and his staff, and 
the inevitable failure of the movement, was general and 
profound, but the last desperate hope seemed to inspire 
them to continue the struggle under the leadership of 
Carlos Mendieta, who had been their candidate for Vice- 
President. The plan adopted by them was to revert to 
the desperate methods of some former wars. In brief, 
it was to divide into small bands, who were to carry on a 
reign of terror and destruction throughout the island, the 
purpose of which was solely to bring about another Amer- 
ican intervention; the argument was used that they had 
succeeded in doing this in 1906, and thus had secured a 
tacit recognition of the Liberal party, and their ultimate 
control of the government. ‘We were successful,” they 
argued, “‘and since the commercial, industrial and politi- 
cal relations between the two republics are so intimate 
and the Platt Amendment authorizes the United States to 
enter Cuba at any time when, in their estimation, the 
circumstances justify such action, if we continue long 
enough, burn enough, destroy enough, and succeed in 
keeping up this state of turmoil long enough, the Amer- 
ican authorities will, sooner or later, be compelled to come 
here, and put an end to affairs that will undoubtedly bring 
about the resignation of Menocal. His life will be made 
intolerable and our several plans for his assassination, 
that have heretofore met with misfortune, if followed, will 
later bear fruit.” 

At the middle of March, Carlos Mendieta, as leader of 
this bushranging rebellion, issued a manifesto threatening 
the destruction of foreign property and declaring that 
there would be no guarantee for the safety of American 
lives unless the United States undertook the supervision 
of the elections in Santa Clara and Oriente provinces. 


ES 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 339 


In their manifesto the rebels promised to lay down 
their arms if the government would hold new elections in 
Santa Clara Province. If the government refused to 
hold such elections the rebels threatened to continue the 
revolution and to proclaim Mendieta Provisional Presi- 
dent. 

The activities of the revolutionary conspirators and 
propagandists in the United States, under the direction of 
Orestes Ferrara in New York, meanwhile became so of- 
fensive that the United States government felt compelled 
to take action. Accordingly on March 25, the State De- 
partment at Washington warned Dr. Ferrara that unless 
he ceased his pernicious operations he and his associate, 
Raimundo Cabrera, would be placed under arrest. This 
had the result of tempering somewhat the zeal of the con- 
spirators, though their propaganda was still furtively 
maintained. 

In passing, it may be stated that a part of the general 
plan—indeed the first step in the proposed uprising— 
was to assassinate General Menocal, while on his way 
from the palace to his estate, eight miles distant, known 
as El Chico. The mayor of the suburb of Marianao, to- 
gether with the chief of police of that village, and four 
soldiers, who had agreed for a consideration to take part 
in the assassination, were stationed at a point carefully 
selected, with orders to fire a charge of buckshot into 
the President’s back from the step of his automobile, and 
then behind the screen of trees and underbrush which 
lined the roadside to make their escape. It was proposed 
to assassinate the chauffeurs and all others who might be 
in the car in order to prevent immediate pursuit. Since 
General Menocal was in the habit of going to his country 
home every afternoon between five and six, the plan prob- 
ably would have succeeded, had it not been for an attack 


340 _ THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


of conscience on the part of one of the soldiers, who, 
after agreeing, lost heart, and a few hours before the 
departure of the machine hastened to the palace and in- 
sisted upon seeing the President, to whom he gave all the 
details of the plot. ‘The betrayal of the plot by the sol- 
dier, who was suspected when he did not make his ap- 
pearance in company with the others, and the machine not 
leaving the palace at the usual hour, which was to have 
been telephoned to the plotters, convinced them that dis- 
covery was more than probable. The mayor, with the 
chief of police, and the others, immediately fled from 
Marianao. Pursuit was given, in spite of which they re- 
sisted capture for several days. Exhausted and 
wounded, they were finally taken in an old sugar mill 
near Bahia Honda, in the Province of Pinar del Rio. 
Not discouraged by this failure, numerous other plans 
for the assassination of the President were arranged, 
among others the manufacture of a highly explosive 
bomb, and an arrangement by which four Liberals agreed 
to attempt to place or throw it under the President’s desk. 
In order to make this plan work, it was necessary to have 
some man who could gain access to the palace, and to the 
office of the President, and this could be done through the 
assistance of some one of the soldiers who had been sta- 
tioned on guard duty on the upper floor of the executive 
mansion. After several months of careful study, one of 
these soldiers was selected, and after another conference, 
the matter was settled, and the man was intrusted with 
the bomb, which was delivered to him at the appointed 
hour, and with which he ascended the palace stairs and 
eventually succeeded in reaching the President, to whom 
he delivered the bomb, with his evidence and the whole 
story. Of course, this second betrayal of the plans of 
the conspirators brought about their capture, and they 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 341 


were tried and condemned to various terms in prison. 
Various other plots were formed, none of which was 
successful. 

As a natural result of the revolution started a few days 
before, the two additional elections ordered by the Su- 
preme Court, were necessarily postponed, since the island 
had been thrown into a turmoil by the action of General 
Gomez. ‘They were, however, : 
afterwards held, and resulted 
in decided Conservative ma- 
jorities, which were carried by 
the electoral boards to the Cen- 
tral Electoral Junta, presided 
over by the Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court, Sefior Pi- 
chardo, and justified that body 
in announcing the election of 
General Menocal to a second JOSE LUIS AZCARATA 
term as President. In spite of cewek ey 
this decision of the courts, which General Menocal had 
previously agreed to abide by, the insurrectionary ele- 
ments of the Liberal party still insisted that General 
Menocal’s second term was secured through deliberate 
and carefully planned frauds and intimidation of the 
voters at the polls. The fact is that the election laws 
of Cuba forbid and prevent any soldier from standing 
even in the doorway of a polling place. He cannot 
approach nearer than the corner of the building in 
which the votes are being deposited, nor can he leave his 
post and come closer to the polls, unless some serious dis- 
turbance, where lives are threatened, occurs, with which 
the police of the district cannot cope. Since the minority 
is represented during the time of voting, and during the 
count by a man selected for that purpose, no fraud could 


342 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


well be perpetrated without the consent of someone re- 
sponsible to the opposition. 

The army officers who had been led by José Miguel 
Gomez to revolt, had been captured with arms in their 
hands, fighting to overthrow the constitutional govern- 
ment of the island; a purpose of which they had made no 
secret. ‘They were therefore guilty of sedition and trea- 
son, and were subject to trial by court martial and to capi- 
tal punishment upon conviction of their crime. ‘They 
were thus tried, and some were condemned to death and 
others to long terms of imprisonment; but the extreme 
sentence was never executed upon one of them, while 
many of the prison sentences were shortened and some of 
the men were pardoned outright. This generous action 
of President Menocal’s was performed through the same 
spirit of magnanimity that moved Estrada Palma to like 
clemency, years before; and it was as ill requited. ‘Some 
of the men whom he had thus saved from the gallows or 
the firing squad promptly resumed criminal conspiracies 
against him; while the Liberal party as a whole demanded 
that the pardoned officers should be at once reinstated in 
the army with full rank and back pay for the time which 
they had spent in insurrection and in prison, and railed 
against President Menocal for not granting that addi- 
tional act of grace! 

The government of the United States is naturally al- 
ways on the side of law and order among its neighbors, 
and while it of course scrupulously refrains from med- 
dling in their affairs unless under intolerable provocation, 
as in the case of Cuba in 1898, it has always given and 
doubtless will always give its sympathy and moral sup- 
port to those who are striving for peace and progress and 
the security of life and property. ‘Toward Cuba its atti- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 343 


tude is more marked than toward other states, because of 
the special relations which exist between the two countries. 
We have seen how it intervened in Cuban affairs for what 
it supposed to be the restoration of tranquillity in 1906. 
While unfortunately its influence was on that occasion 
made to appear as though given to the revolutionary 
rathcr than the legitimate side, its intent was unmistak- 
able. In spite of the advantage which they took of its 
intervention at that time, the Liberal leaders in Cuba have 
since felt much aggrieved at it for standing in the way 
of their designs on more than one occasion when they 
wished to revolt against constitutional order. 

The United States did not intervene in 1917. It was 
not, as President Menocal confidently assured it, neces- 
sary for it to do so. But it is pleasant to recall that it 
stood ready to do so, and there is of course no possible 
doubt as to what the purport of its intervention would 
have been. During that episode no fewer than five mes- 
sages were addressed to the people of Cuba by the gov- 
ernment of the United States, warning them against any 
attempt at forcible revolution. They breathed the spirit 
of the epigram of John Hayin 1903: “Revolutions have 
gone out of fashion in our neighborhood.” Thus on 
February 19, 1917, the United States made it known to 
the Cuban government and through it to the Cuban people 
that— 

“The American Government has in previous declara- 
tions defined its attitude respecting the confidence and 
support it gives the constitutional governments and the 
policy it has adopted toward any disturbers of the peace 
through revolutionary ventures. The American govern- 
ment again wishes to inform the Cuban people of the 
attitude it has assumed in view of the present events: 


344 ' THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


“First—The government of the United States gives its 
support to and stands by the Constitutional Government 
of the Republic of Cuba. 

‘“‘Second—The present insurrection against the Con- 
stitutional Government of Cuba is regarded by the Amer- 
ican Government in the light of an anti-constitutional and 
illegal act, which it will not tolerate. 

“‘Third—The leaders of the revolt will be held respon- 
sible for the damages which foreigners may suffer in 
their persons or their property. 

“Fourth—The government of the United States will 
examine attentively what attitude it will adopt respecting 
those concerned in the present disturbance of the peace 
in Cuba, or those who are actually participating in it.” 

At the beginning of March American Marines and 
Bluejackets were landed at Santiago, Guantanamo, Man- 
zanillo, Nuevitas, and El Cobre, for patrol duty for the 
protection of American interests. 

Again, on March 24 the American government sent a 
note saying: 

“Tt has come to the knowledge of the United States 
Government that in Cuba propaganda persists that in 
response to efforts of agents against the constitutional 
government the United States is studying the adoption of 
measures in their favor.” 

It was quite true. The remaining insurgents—Gomez 
and the other principal leaders had already been cap- 
tured—were declaring that just as in 1906 American in- 
tervention had meant the success of the revolution, so now 
the United States was about to intervene again to the 
same effect. Wherefore this American note continued: 

“The constitutional government of Cuba has been 
and will continue to be sustained and backed by the gov- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 345 


ernment of the United States in its efforts to reestablish 
order throughout the territory of the republic. 

“The United States government, emphasizing its con- 
demnation of the reprehensible conduct of those rising 
against the constitutional government in an effort to settle 
by force of arms controversies for which existing laws es- 
tablish adequate legal remedies, desires to make known 
that until those in rebellion recognize their duties as 
Cuban citizens, lay down their arms and return to legal- 
ity, the United States can hold no communication what- 
ever with any of them and will be forced to regard them 
as outside the law and unworthy of its consideration.” 

That was plain talk, and it had its effect. But the 
climax was yet to come in a final message which stated 
that if destruction of property, disturbance of public order 
and deliberate attempts to overthrow the established gov- 
ernment were continued, Cuba being an ally of the United 
States, the United States would be compelled to regard the 
doers of such deeds as enemies and to proceed against 
them as such. At that time both the United States and 
Cuba were at war with Germany, and were therefore 
allies in offense and defense, and it was quite logical for 
one ally to regard as its enemy any enemy of the other 
ally. In brief, any one waging war against the Cuban 
government was in effect waging war against the govern- 
ment of the United States. That stern logic put a quietus 
upon the attempted insurrection. “Our last recourse,” 
said one of the rebel leaders, “‘has been taken from us. 
There is no use in starting a reyolution if it is to be 
doomed to failure before it begins.” 


CHAPTER XIX 


Cusa entered the Great War. That fact was the su- 
preme seal to her title-deeds to a place as peer among the 
nations; placing her in blood-brotherhood with her neigh- 
bors. She entered the war almost simultaneously with 
the United States, though with less delay than that coun- 
try. At Washington the President addressed Congress 
on April 2, advising a declaration of war against Ger- 
many, and the declaration was made on April 6. At 
Havana the President delivered his war message on April 
6, and on April 7 war was declared. In that impressive 
and epochal message, the most momentous and solemn 
that any chief of state can ever utter, President Menocal 
reviewed in dispassionate detail the criminal record of 
Germany in her unrestricted submarine warfare, and then 
continued: 

“The government of the United States, to which coun- 
try we are bound by the closest ties, had during the last 
two years incessantly formulated energetic protests and 
claims based on the most elemental principles of justice 
in defence of its citizens who were victims on many occa- 
sions of attacks by German submarines; of the liberty of 
the seas and the respect due the lives and property of neu- 
trals; and revindicating the right to navigate and engage 
in commerce freely, without restrictions save those sanc- 
tioned by international law, by treaties, and by the uni- 
versal practise of civilized nations. 

“Since February 1 submarines have attacked and sunk 


without mercy. Such acts of war without quarter, 
346 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 347 


directed against all nations, to close down the world’s 
commerce under terrible penalties, cannot be tolerated 
without accepting them as legitimate to-day and always. 

“Cuba cannot appear indifferent to such violations, 
which at any moment may be carried out at the cost of the 
lives and interests of its own citizens. Nor can it, with- 
out loss of dignity and decorum, show indifference to 
the noble attitude assumed by the United States, to which 
we are bound by ties of gratitude and by treaties. Cuba 
cannot remain neutral in this supreme conflict, because a 
declaration of neutrality would compel it to treat alike 
all belligerents, denying them with equal vigor entrance 
to our ports and imposing other restrictions which are 
contrary to the sentiment of the Cuban people and which 
inevitably in the end would result in conflict with our 
friend and ally. 

“Tn full and firm consciousness that I am fulfilling one 
of my most sacred duties, although with profound senti- 
ment, because I am about to propose a resolution which 
will plunge our country into the dangers of the greatest 
conflagration in history, but without casting odium upon, 
or without animosity toward, the German people, but 
convinced that we are compelled to take this step by our 
international obligations and the principles of justice 
and liberty, I appeal to the honorable Congress in the use 
of its executive faculties, with full knowledge of all the 
antecedents in the case and with the mature deliberation 
of its important claim, to resolve, as a result of these 
unjustifiable and repeated acts of aggression by sub- 
marines, notwithstanding the protests of neutral govern- 
ments, among them Cuba, that there has been created and 
exists a state of war between Cuba and the imperial Ger- 
man government, and adopt all measures necessary, which 
I reserve to myself the right to recommend at the proper 


348 - ‘THE HISTORY OF CUBA ~- 


moment, for the maintenance of our rights; to defend our 
territory; to provide for our security, and to cooperate de- 
cidedly to these ends with the United States government, 
lending it what assistance may be in our power for the 
defence of the liberty of the seas, of the rights of neutrals, 
and of international justice.” 

The next day the Cuban Congress adopted the declara- 
tion of war, in the exact words of the President’s message. 
A resolution was at the same time introduced and adopted, 
authorizing the President to organize and to place at the 
disposal of the President of the United States a contin- 
gent of 10,000 men, for military service in Europe. 

It would be superfluous to dwell upon the causes which 
led Cuba thus promptly and heartily to commit herself to 
the side of the Allies in the war. They were largely 
identical with those which impelled other nations to the 
same course. There was a resolution to vindicate the 
sanctity of treaties and the majesty of international law. 
There was an abhorrence of the infamous practices of the 
German government and the German army. ‘There was 
resentment against the gross violation of neutral rights 
of which Germany had been guilty. There was recog- 
nition of the grave menace to popular governments the 
world over which was presented by the voracious and un- 
scrupulous ambitions of Prussian militarism. There 
was a feeling that as the war had first been directed 
against two small nations, on the principle that small 
states had no rights that large ones were bound to re- 
spect, it was incumbent upon other small states to pro- 
test against that arrogant attitude. There was a desire 
to show that Cuba, youngest and one of the smallest of 
the nations, was ready to take her full part as a nation 
among nations, in war as well as in peace. There was, 
also, no doubt a legitimate feeling that in this matter it 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 349 


would be appropriate for Cuba—though of course under 
no compulsion—to align herself with the great northern 
neighbor with whom she sustained such close relations. 

At the same time, backed undoubtedly by German 
money, and as a part of the German propaganda, finan- 
cial interests, banks and houses of long standing in 
Cuba, all of which were eventually placed on a black 
list, exerted a very strong influence among their custo- 
mers and through their connections, commercial, social 
and political, in favor of Germany. They did succeed 
in influencing and directing the editorial policy of 
some prominent newspapers, but the chief result of their 
pernicious activities was to get themselves and their sym- 
pathizers into trouble. One of the foremost bankers of 
Havana, where he had lived for many years and was 
personally much liked and esteemed in society, while not 
openly espousing the cause of Germany, after Cuba had 
declared war, was known to be thoroughly in sympathy 
with Germany. He with over a hundred other Germans 
was interned, or kept incommunicado, and in his house 
documents were found demonstrating that he was not 
only an agent in distributing German propaganda, but 
also a distributor of funds intended to promote the cause 
of Germany in Cuba and the West Indies. 

Another very strong influence that was exerted in Cuba 
against the attitude of President Menocal and his gov- 
ernment was that of many of the clergy of the Roman 
Catholic church, who openly spoke to their congrega- 
tions in favor of Germany and against the cause of the 
Allies. Nor was the Liberal party by any means as 
loyal to the Allies as the unanimous vote in Congress 
might seem to suggest. Many of its members either 
openly or secretly gave their sympathy and influence to 
the German side. This was partly because of their in- 


350 - THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


veterate opposition to anything advocated by the Con- 
servative government; and partly because of the aid 
which German interests in Cuba had given, morally, 
politically and pecuniarily, to the insurrection of José 
Miguel Gomez in 1917. It was proved in trials in the 
courts of Cuba, which were held in consequence of the 
damages wrought by that uprising, that Germans and 
men of German parentage had conspired to give informa- 
tion to the rebels and to supply them with munitions, and 
in other ways strove to aid that movement in overthrow- 
ing the government. But these seditious and disloyal 
elements in Cuba were probably no stronger in Cuba 
than in the United States or other countries. 

Cuba did not suffer from incendiarism and similar 
German outrages as did the United States. On the other 
hand, the Cuban government was fully as strict as that 
of the United States in taking possession of German 
property, and in blacklisting all firms and individuals 
known to be in sympathy with Germany. All trading 
of any kind with such parties was forbidden; an ar- 
rangement being made by which open accounts with 
them could be closed. A Custodian of Alien Property 
was also appointed. 

Even before the declaration of war the Cuban govern- 
ment took strenuous means to prevent violations of neu- 
trality. A few weeks before the declaration of war Ger- 
man agents fitted up a steamer in Havana harbor as a 
commerce-destroying cruiser, and watched for an op- 
portunity to take her out to the high seas. Learning of 
these plans, the Cuban government stationed a cruiser 
alongside that vessel, with guns trained upon her, to 
prevent the purposed escape. Immediately upon the 
declaration of war the four German ships which were 
lying interned in Havana harbor were seized by the 


ES = 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA S51 


Cuban government. It was found that the German 
crews had seriously damaged the machinery of the ves- 
sels, as they did at New York and elsewhere; but the 
Cuban government had repairs made and then turned the 
vessels over to the United States. 

In what we may call the non-military activities of the 
war, Cuba was notably energetic and efficient. There 
was close cooperation with the United States government 
in the matter of food conservation and supply. Cuba 
was naturally looked to for an increased supply of sugar, 
for which there was great need; and as a result of in- 
quiries by Mr. Hoover, the United States Food Commis- 
sioner, as to what the island could do in that respect, the 
Cuban Department of Agriculture sent the chief of its 
Bureau of Information, Captain George Reno, to Wash- 
ington to confer with Mr. Hoover and to formulate 
plans for the exercise of the most efficient cooperation 
possible between Cuba and the United States. Recog- 
nizing the desirability if not the necessity that Cuba 
should not only be able to feed herself during the war 
but should also export as much food as possible, the in- 
sular government took steps at once for the increase of 
food production to the highest attainable degree, and 
also for the practice of thrift and economy. In conse- 
quence Cuba endured cheerfully the same system of 
wheatless days and meatless days and rationing in va- 
rious articles of food that prevailed in the United States; 
with excellent results. 

President Menocal also made preparations, at the sug- 
gestion of and in conjunction with the United States War 
Department, for the provision of a detachment of troops 
for service either in Europe or in any part of the world 
that the Department at Washington might deem ex- 
pedient. The best officers of the Cuban army accepted 


352 _ THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


an invitation from the military authorities of the United 
States to receive instruction in modern military tactics, 
which had been brought out by the war, and Senator 
Manuel Coronado patriotically gave a sum sufficient for 
the building of a number of airplanes, to be used by 
Cuban aviators. Volunteers for this division were easily 
secured and the instruction began under the direction of 
Cuban aviators who had been in the service of France. 
The War Department of the United States notified the 
Republic of Cuba that owing to the severe exposure of 
the men to the freezing water and mud of the trenches of 
Belgium and France, it was doubtful whether soldiers of 
tropical countries could withstand the strain upon their 
health necessarily endured during the winter campaign in 
Europe, intimating that their services would be far more 
useful in taking the place of other troops stationed in 
warmer climates, as the Porto Ricans were taking the 
place of the marines that were stationed in the Panama 
Canal Zone. ‘This was a rather severe disappointment to 
General Pujol and the other officers, who were very anx- 
ious to take their places in the line of fire. 

Noteworthy and most admirable were the achieve- 
ments of Cuba in the financial operations of the war. 
Subscriptions were eagerly made to every one of the Lib- 
erty Loans, and to the final Victory Loan, with the re- 
sult that in every case the amount allotted to Cuba was 
far exceeded. The quota for the third loan was sub- 
scribed twice over within five days. In this work not 
only did banks and commercial houses take part, as a 
matter of business, but also many private citizens volun- 
teered as canvassers; though indeed the eagerness of 
people to subscribe made canvassing perfunctory and 
urging superfluous. 

A similar interest was manifested in Red Cross con- 


OF 


bas 


SOU LW 


fisq i 
» 33 bas sistfor 


bat 


< 


119 dito 
con iast0 
& 


oe 


ree Sa 

x aTee SN) 

“ae oe ee 
‘ : 


avitation from the m itary auther 
6 to receive. Tastruction in -mMeé _ 
had been brought-out by the 

nual Cerdtiade patriotically. gavea) 
tiidise of a number of airplanes. 

an aviators. Volunteers for-this drvigign 
Mtived and the mstryuction b egan-under the : 
intors who had been in the servaaas 
partment of the United States motes 
Cuba that owing tecthe severe expos r 


ae ~ SeRORA “MENOCAL fhe the tres 
was doubt eh w heth } 

It is sant ney throneh the felicitous circ ” 
the wife of President Mario G. Menocal that’ Pi Sea ite 
Seva de Menocal is entitled to the distinction—never: 
priate than in her case—of being the “‘first lady of the 
title rests equally upon personal charm, the graces 
pitality, and womanly leadership ‘of the most ef 
philanthropic and patriotic endeavor for the adv 
public welfare and the confirmation of the integ 
of the prosperity of the Republic; while her. inde 
in the great war. invested her name wit -affectiona ar 

distinction in the begins and among the peoples of of th 
tions:#0U5 1 prates im the line of fire 

ro i most admirable: were 


re eageriy made to every GB 


7 ee 
Che quota for the third loan 2 


> ethan Neve mote 
Within tye days 

Ee wee 

Clds nouses 


iso many private eit 
ideed the 
made canvassmg perfun 


’ 
LOU gm 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 353 


tributions and Red Cross work, with equally gratifying 
results. In both of these activities a leading and most 
efficient part was taken by the women of Cuba. In sub- 
scribing to the loans they were most generous; in can- 
vassing for subscriptions from others and in collecting 
and working for the Red Cross they were indefatigable 
and irresistible. They made it a point of patriotic 
honor, and almost a condition of social acceptability, to 
respond in the fullest possible manner to every such call 
of the war. In Cuba’s domestic struggles, the women 
had suffered cruelly, and their sympathies sprang spon- 
taneously and generously toward the lands of Europe 
where womanhood was suffering a thousand martyrdoms. 
Thus as the manhood of Cuba with a unanimity which 
the few exceptions only emphasized rallied to the call 
of the President to throw the material and militant might 
of the Republic on the side of law, of civilization and of 
democracy, the womanhood of Cuba, with no less unani- 
mity and zeal, followed Senora Menocal in the equally 
necessary and grateful tasks of the campaign which 
women even better than men could perform. 

No tribute could be too high to render to these de- 
voted women, who were always ready to make personal 
sacrifices of time, of strength, of money, of work, for 
the cause of humanity. Amid all its historic fiestas and 
pageants, Havana has seen no fairer or more inspiring 
spectacle than that of the Red Cross women, Senora 
Menocal at their head, marching in stately procession 
through her streets to manifest their devotion to the cause 
and to arouse others to equal earnestness. ‘The magni- 
tude of the sums raised by the women of Cuba for the 
war loans and for the Red Cross, and for Cuban hos- 
pital units at the front, and the amount of bandages and 
other hospital supplies and clothing prepared by them 


354 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


for the armies “over there,” made proud items in Cuban 
statistics of the Great War. 

Thitherto Cuba had often been engaged in war, but 
it was always in what may be termed selfish war, for her 
own defence against an alien enemy or for her own lib- 
eration from oppressors who, at first kin, had become 
alien. Now for the first time it was her privilege to 
engage in a greater struggle than any before, and one 
which was for her own interests only to the extent to 
which those interests were involved with and were prac- 
tically identical with the interests of all civilized nations 
and of world-wide humanity. Said Thomas Jefferson 
on a memorable occasion, referring to the relations be- 
tween America and Great Britain: 

“Nothing would more tend to knit our affections than 
to be fighting once more, side by side, in the same cause.” 

Thus we must reckon that affection and confidence be- 
tween Cuba and the United States were greatly strength- 
ened and confirmed by the fact that they were.at least 
potentially and indeed to some degree actually fighting 
side by side in the same cause, and that cause not exclu- 
sively their own but that of the whole world. Nor was 
the event without a comparable effect upon Cuba’s rela- 
tions to the world at large. Her sympathies were broad- 
ened; her recognition by other powers was extended; and 
as once she had been a mere pawn in the international 
game, now she became a vital and potent factor in inter- 
national affairs. 


CHAPTER XX 


““A REVOLUTION which comprehends the responsibili- 
ties incumbent upon the founders of nations.” Those 
were almost the last words of José Marti, epigrammat- 
ically expressive of his purpose in fomenting the ultimate 
and triumphant revolution of 1895-1898, and of the 
purpose of those devoted men who caught the standard 
of liberty from his dying hand and through labors and 
perils and tragedies incommensurable bore it on to vic- 
tory. How well that purpose has been served in these 
scarcely twenty years of the independent Republic of 
Cuba, how true to Marti’s transcendent ideal his succes- 
sors in Cuban leadership have been, the record which we 
have briefly rehearsed must tell. On the whole, the an- 
swer to the implied interrogatory is gratifying and re- 
assuring. 

The real leaders of the Cuban nation have compre- 
hended the responsibilities, unspeakably profound and 
weighty, that rest upon the founders of a nation, and no 
less upon those who direct the affairs of a nation after 
its foundation, to the last chapter in its age-long annals. 
We should go far, very far, before we could find a states- 
man more appreciative of that responsibility than Tomas 
Estrada Palma, or one who more manfully strove to 
discharge its every duty with scrupulous fidelity and with 
all the discretion and wisdom with which he had him- 
self been plenteously endowed and which he could sum- 
mon to his council board from among his loyal com- 


patriots. 
355 


356 - THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


We must regard it as the supreme reproach of José 
Miguel Gomez that, with all his ability and energy, he 
lacked that supreme quality, the sense of civic responsi- 
bility, which Marti prescribed for Cuba and for Cubans. 
His shameful and unpardonable treason—a double trea- 
son, to his own party partner as well as to the government 
of his country—was not inspired by the genius of Marti. 
It did not comprehend the gigantic responsibilities which 
it so lightly sought to assume, but was marked with 
the irresponsibility which has characterized so many rey- 
olutions in other Latin American countries, and which 
has brought upon those lands disaster and measureless 
reproach. 

Under the third Presidency which Cuba has enjoyed 
that responsibility is happily comprehended in complete 
degree. Not even Estrada Palma possessed a higher 
sense of duty to the state and to the world than Mario G. 
Menocal, nor gave to it more tangible and efficient exposi- 
tion. Nor shall we incur reproach of lack of reverence 
for a great name if we perceive that in certain essential 
and potent particulars Cuba’s third President is even 
more capable of discharging that responsibility than was 
the first. The younger, alert, practical man of affairs, 
expert in the duties of both peace and war, has the ad- 
vantage over the elder sage whose life for many years 
had been cloistered in academic calm. 

We might not inappropriately gauge the extent of 
Cuba’s discharge of her responsibilities as a sovereign na- 
tion by the measure of her progress in various paths of 
human welfare. ‘This is not the place for a comprehen- 
sive census of the island, or for a conspectus of its sta- 
tistics. Ex pede Herculem. From a few items we may 
estimate the whole. In the days of unembarrassed Span- 
ish rule, before that sovereignty was challenged by rev- 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA Soe 


olutions, the island had a population of a million souls. 
It had between two hundred and three hundred teachers, 
and—in 1841—9,082 children enrolled in schools. 
That was one schoolchild in every 110 of the population. 
To-day the island has a population of 2,700,000, and it 
has 350,000 children enrolled in its schools. That is 
one child in every eight of the population. The contrast 
between one-eighth and one-one hundred and tenth is one 
valid and expressive measure of Cuba’s discharge of her 
responsibility. 

Under the administration of President Menocal the 
annual appropriation for pub- 
lic education is more than $10,- 
000,000. ‘There are six great 
normal schools to train the 
5,500 teachers who are needed 
to care for the 350,000 pupils; 
and as the national government 
conducts all the schools there 
is no discrimination between 
poor places and wealthy com- 
munities, but an equal grade 


? ; pales . FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZ ROLDAN 
of teaching is maintained in secretary or pusiic mNsTRUC- 


TION 


all. Nor does the state stop 
with primary education, but provides practically free sec- 
ondary and university education for all who desire it. 
Shall we take public health as another measure of 
progress? In the half dozen years just before the War 
of Independence the death rate in Havana was 33 to the 
1,000. By 1902 it was reduced to 22, or only a little 
more than in New York. To-day, under President 
Menocal, the death rate for all Cuba is only 11.2. In 
the registration area of the United States it is 14. In 
the United Kingdom it is 14.2, and Britain vaunts her- 


358 _ THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


self upon its lowness. In France it is 19.6; in Argentina 
it is 21.6; in Chili it is 31.1. There are only three coun- 
tries in the world with lower rates of mortality than 
Cuba; and they are New Zealand, with 9.5, Newfound- 
land with 10.5, and Australia with 10.6. 

Again, consider what is still the chief industry of 
Cuba. Before the administration of President Menocal, 
these were the yearly sugar crops, in tons: | 


TORO eee 961,958 
TOOT ay cate, 1,513,582 
1SEO. ee 1,804,349 
BOUL ee. 1,480,217 
11 ae 1,893,687 


Compare or contrast those figures with these, under the 
administration of a President who comprehends his re- 
sponsibilities : 


HONS aL wu 2,429,240 
HOR Le 2,596,567 
HOLSY.. vials 2,583,845 » 
TA [MG 3,006,624 
ich ORC ee 3,019,936 
seh ea 3,444,605 
HOLTON 4,000,000 


No less impressive and significant are the figures which 
indicate the volume of trade between Cuba and the 
United States. The imports of American goods into 
Cuba in 1903 were only $23,000,000; in 1908 they were 
$48,577,000; in 1917 they-were $189,875,000. The ex- 
ports of Cuban goods to the United States were in 1908 
only $78,869,000, and in 1917 they were $225,275,000, 
and in 1919 more than $500,000,000. The balance of 
trade is thus heavily in Cuba’s favor. Small as Cuba is 


ig eyswiyid slidomoins 
oq bas 29itio of vino ton 

O  .v19m902 pritasdons 
anisinuom ort devords 
siqmisxs disquz & 


self upon its lowness, 
it is 24. 6; in Chili it is 31.1, _ There ; 
ried ‘in ive world with lower rates 
iba; and they are New Cealanyy, with 6 
land with 10.5, and Australia with 10, bis . 
\gain, covsider what is. still ‘the chief im 
Before the administration, ‘of President 

ean Were » the yearly sugar crops, in tonss 


poNtAro ROAD, eh 
No country in th Feat probably, i 3 
good roads, for ie eisteal’ and plea eg pur 
from and other im ort 
autoeidBie ie hihi ee See Rr ae He OF 
not enlist ies and ports ‘but ‘also for ie 
enchanting scenery. Of such highways the Bor é 
through the mountains - Santiago, in re bs. 
a superb example. } 


ud 
mee pe 
No less impressive and significant are the f 
indicate the volume of trade between Cul 


Cuba in 1903 were only $23,000,000 


4,577,000; "a 1 917 they were $189,875, 000) 
of Cuban goods to the United States: 


r 


bs 78,869,000, and in 1917 
and im 1919 nore than $200 000,000; 
t s thus heavily in Cuba’s favor. Smafh 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 359 


in comparison with some of her neighbors, her commerce 
with the United States far exceeds theirs. Thus in 1917 
the commerce, in both directions, of Brazil with the 
United States was $180,000,000; of Chili, $205,000,000; 
of Argentina, $305,000,000; of Mexico, $248,000,000; 
and of Cuba, $415,150,000. 
Financially, the Sdusnisttation of President Menocal 
is to be credited with the can- > 
cellation of the heavy and 
largely unnecessary debts which 
were left to it by the preceding 
administration; an achieve- 
ment which contributed greatly 
to the improvement of Cuba’s 4 
international credit. The for- ° 
eign claims of Great Britain, 
France and Germany, which Wey 
had been an _ embarrassing JOSE A. DEL CUETO 
eerie tor Several years, have P®= ENT OF SursEME courr 
been so satisfactorily adjusted that their complete settle- 
ment will be effected at a time convenient to all parties 
concerned. The grave fiscal and economic crisis which 
followed the beginning of the war of 1914, in practically 
all the markets of the world was avoided in Cuba by the 
Economic Defense Bill, and the establishment of a Cuban 
national monetary system has facilitated exchange and 
all manner of transactions in Cuba, and has redeemed the 
country from the reproach of being ridden by and de- 
pendent upon foreign coin as its medium of exchange. 
The sanitary redemption of Cuba was indeed effected 
under the administration of Leonard Wood in the first 
American Government of Intervention. But the for- 
tunate condition then attained has been not only fully 
maintained but constantly and materially bettered 


360 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


through the activity of the public health department of the 
Menocal administration. New problems in sanitation 
have arisen, only to be met with promptness, thorough- 
a ness and success. One of the 

most severe tests of the efficiency 
of the organization against dis- 
ease occurred when the dreaded 
bubonic plague was imported; 
and that efficiency was amply 
vindicated by the complete erad- 
ication of that pestilence within 
a few weeks. 

Shortly after his accession to 
DR. FERNANDO mENvEz-capors, the Presidency, General Meno- 

SECRETARY OF SANITATION cal effected a complete reursante 
zation of the military system. It was not his purpose to 
burden the country with unnecessary armaments, but he 
realized the necessity of a certain degree of militant prep- 
aration for emergencies and therefore provided it with 
a small but efficient army and 
navy, commensurate with the ne- 
cessities of the country, and en- 
tirely subject, of course, to the 
control and direction of the peo- 
ple through their civil govern- 
ment. The efficiency of this arm 
of the Government was well dem- 
onstrated at the time already de- 
scribed in these pages when, early 
in 1917, a widespread revolution GEN. JOSE MARTI, 
was attempted for the purpose of SE 
overthrowing the constitutional and legal government of 
the country. At that time the President showed the same 
triumphant ability as a military strategist that he had 


SS Se 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 361, 


displayed as a civil administrator, in directing the move- 
ments of the Government troops from the Palace in Ha- 
vana. It was due to his vigilance and energy in directing 
the campaign, as well, of course, as to the able assistance 
of his staff, that the rebel forces were promptly sur- 
rounded and captured and thus a death blow was struck 
at what we may hope will prove to have been the last at- 
tempt at revolution in Cuba. 

No less remarkable than his energy in war was the 
President’s magnanimity in dealing with his vanquished 
enemies when peace had been restored, though sometimes 
against the will of many of his foremost advisers. He 
led the movement of opinion favorable to harmony and 
reconciliation, which was finally confirmed by a law of 
congress granting full amnesty to all civilians who par- 
ticipated in that ill advised insurrection. Instead of us- 
ing persecution, bitterness and vindictive oppression 
against his enemies, President Menocal restored good will 
through the Island by his magnanimous generosity and 
abundant acts of grace. 

We have already spoken of President Menocal’s ad- 
mirable course in pointing out where the duty of his 
country lay in the great crisis of the European war, and 
in confirming the traditional friendship between Cuba 
and the United States by making the insular republic an 
ally of its great northern neighbor in that world-wide 
conflict. His recommendation of a declaration of war 
was immediately and unanimously adopted by the Cuban 
Congress, and thereafter the policy of the republic, under 
his direction, was one of close cooperation with the 
United States, and of placing all the resources and ener- 
gies of the Island at the disposal of the Allied cause. 
It is worthy of record that the French Government 
showed its appreciation, not only of his spirit and pur- 


362 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


pose but of his actual achievements in the war, by con- 
ferring upon him the Grand Cross of the Legion of 
Honor. 

During these last few years the agricultural, industrial 
and economical resources of Cuba have been developed 
to an extent hitherto unknown 
and undreamed of in the history 
of the country. Industries have 
been immensely stimulated, 
great new enterprises have been 
_.created, and an expansion of 
foreign trade has been attained 
which makes Cuba in propor- 
tion to its size the foremost com- 
mercial country of the world. 
BUGENTO SANCHEZ AGRAMONTE According to TéGeniLyiialas——— 
foreign trade of Cuba is $800,000,000. Reckoning 
the population of the Island at about 2,700,000, that 
means a foreign trade of more than $296 per capita. In 
the year immediately preceding the outbreak of the Eu- 
ropean war, and before the great disturbance of com- 
merce caused by that conflict, the foreign trade of the 
United States of America amounted to only $39 per 


EUGENIO SANCHEZ AGRAMONTE 


Bearing a name which has been identified with many high achievements 
in medical and other science, Dr. Eugenio Sanchez Agramonte has added 
new lustre to it by his own achievements for the health of humanity and 
for the welfare of his fatherland. He was born in Camaguey on April 17, 
1865, and had already attained enviable rank as a physician and sanitarian 
when, still a young man, he entered the War of Independence. His chief 
services were rendered as Director of the Sanitary Department of the Army 
of Liberation, in which place he had the rank of General. He was also 
Director of the great Casa de Beneficia. After the war he took an active 
interest in civic affairs, and became the president of the Conservative party. 
With the election of General Menocal to the Presidency of the Cuban Re- 
public, General Agramonte was elected president of the Senate, which posi- 
tion he held until 1917, when President Menocal appointed him Secretary 
of Agriculture, Commerce and Labor. 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 363 


capita, and even that of the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Ireland to only $170. 

Before the enraptured vision of Columbus, Cuba baf- 
fled appreciation. To the more discriminating vision of 
to-day, her future equally baffles while it piques imag- 
ination. Louis Napoleon, meditating upon the possibili- 
ties of an American Isthmian canal, once said: 

“The geographical position of Constantinople ren- 
dered her the Queen of the ancient world. Occupying, 
as she does, the central point between Europe, Asia and 
Africa, she could become the entreport of the commerce 
of all those countries, and obtain over them immense pre- 
ponderance; for in politics, as in strategy, a central posi- 
tion always commands the circumference.” 

Then he pointed out the similarity of position of Nic- 
aragua, where he hoped to construct a canal, and argued 
that it similarly might obtain a like status in the West- 
ern World. It needs little suggestion to point out that 
Cuba fulfils those conditions in a supreme degree. It 
was not vainly that Spaniards centuries ago called Ha- 
vana the Key of the Gulf, of the Caribbean, of the Indies, 
of the Western World. The position of Cuba is unique 
and incomparable, with relation to the United States, 
Mexico, Central America and South America, and the 
two enclosed seas which form the Mediterranean of the 
American Continents. Of old the treasure fleets of 
Spain passed by her coasts, and visited her harbors. To- 
day she is similarly visited by the fleets which ply be- 
tween North America and South America, and between 
the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Reckoned by routes 
of traffic on the charted seas, she is the commercial cen- 
tre of the world. 

It is not with ambition for conquest or for political 
ascendancy that Cuba exults in that proud position, but 


364 THE HISTORY OF CUBA 


merely that she may in the words of her President “show 
herself worthy of the favors which God has lavished upon 


ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, HAVANA 


her,” and make herself a joy unto herself and a con- 
venience and a benefaction to the peaceful world. It 
is into such an estate that she has now found the sure 
way to enter, and is indeed confidently and triumphantly 
entering, through achievements which, though embraced 
in only half a dozen years, are worthy of a generation 
of progress and are auspicious of immeasurable genera- 
tions of progress yet to come; achievements toward which 


ey 


THE HISTORY OF CUBA 365 


her present Chief of State has greatly and indispensably 
contributed. 

The story of Cuba is from Velasquez to Menocal. 
That is the story which we have tried to tell. But that 
is by no means the whole history of Cuba. Even of 
that portion of it we have been able here to give only an 
outline of the essential facts. But surely the span of 
four hundred and seven years must not be reckoned as a 
finality. It is only the beginning of the annals of a 
land and a people whose place among the nations of the 
world in honorable perpetuity is now assured as far as 
it can be assured by human purpose and achievement. 

These pages are, then, in fact, merely the prologue 
to records of progress and attainment which shall honor 
the name of Cuba and adorn the story of the world, “far 
on, in summers that we shall not see.” 

From Velasquez to Menocal. The span is tremen- 
dous, in character as well as in lapse of time. It is a 
span from the fanatical and ruthless conqueror seeking 
only his own and his country’s advantage, selfish and 
sordid, to the broadminded and altruistic statesman and 
philanthropist, seeking the advantage and the advance- 
ment of his fellow men. It is a span, in brief, from the 
Sixteenth Century age of force to the Twentieth Century 
age of law. 

Nevertheless, the span and the contrast involve a cer- 
tain analogy. It was the work of Velasquez, masterful 
man of vision that he was, to begin the transformation of 
a land of aboriginal barbarians into at least a semblance 
of civilization; the transformation from the primitive, 
scarcely more than animal, existence of the Cuban au- 
tochthones, to the strenuous if sophisticated life of Spain. 
Tt has been and is the work of President Menocal and his 
accomplished and patriotic colleagues to induct the land 


366 “THE, HISTORY), OF 

and people from the discredited re 
colonial system into the clearer light, 
the immeasurably more spacious and ele 
ties of a free and independent people who 
the responsibilities incumbent upon the fo 
nations.” ; 


INDEX 


ears Sr., proposes reforms for Cuba, 


Abreu, “Marta and Rosalie, patriotism of, 


a2: 

Academy of Sciences, Havana, picture of, 

Adams, John Quincy, enunciates Ameri- 
can policy toward Cuba, II, 258; por- 
trait, 259; on Cuban annexation, 327. 

Aglona, Prince de, Governor, II, 363. 

Agramonte, Aristide, in yellow fever cam- 
paign, IV, 172. 

sezemgnte, Enrique, in Cuban Junta, IV, 
12. 

Agramonte, Eugenio Sanchez, sketch and 
portrait, IV, 

Agramonte, Francisco, IV, 41. 

Agramonte, Ignacio, portrait, facing, III, 


258. 
Agriculture, early attention to, I, 173, 
224; progress, 234; II, 213; absentee 


landlords, 214; statistics, 223; discussed 
in periodicals, 250; rehabilitation of 
after War of Independence, IV, 147. 

Aguayo, Geronimo de, I, 161. 

Aguero, Joaquin de, organizes revolution, 
III, 72; final defeat, 87. 

Aguiar, Luis de, II, 60. 

Aguiera, Jose, I, 295. 

Aguila, Negra, Il, 346 

Aguilera, Francisco V., sketch and por- 
trait, III, 

pes bee re filibuster, IV, 55; 
eath 

Albemazle, Earl of, expedition against Ha- 
vana, II, 46; occupies Havana, 78; con- 
troversy with Bishop Morell, 83. 

Alcala, Marcos, I, 310. 

Aldama, Miguel de, sketch and portrait, 
III, 204. 

Aleman, Manuel, French emissary, II, 

Algonquins, I, 7. 

Allen, Robert, on 
vana,”’ II, 81. 

Almendares River, tapped for water sup- 
ply, I, 266; view on, IV, 167. 

Almendariz, "Alfonso Enrique, Bishop, I, 

de 

Alquiza, Sancho de, Governor, I, 277. 

Altamarino, Governor, I, 105; post mor- 
tem trial of Velasquez, 107; attacked by 
the Guzmans, 109; removed, 110. 

Altamirano, Juan C., Bishop, I, 273; 
seized by brigands, 274 

Alvarado, Luis de, I, 147 

Alvarado, Pedro de, in Mexico, I, 86. 

Amadeus, King of Spain, III, 260. 

America, relation of Cuba to, I, 1; 
254. See UNITED STATES. 

American Revolution, effect of upon Spain 
and her colonies, II, 138. 

American Treaty, between Great Britain 
and Spain, I, 303. 


“Importance of Ha- 


1BE 


36 


Andrea, Juan de, II, 9. 

Angulo, Francisco de, exiled, I, 193. 

Angulo, Gonzales Perez de, Governor, ae 
161; emancipation proclamation, 163; 
quarrel with Havana Council, 181; 
flight from Sores, 186; end of admin- 
istration, 192. 

Anners, Jzan de Laet de, quoted, I, 353. 

Annexation of Cuba to United States, 
first suggested, II, 257, 326; campaign 
for, 380; sought by United States, III, 
132, 135; Marcy’s policy, 141; Ostend 
Manifesto, 142; Buchanan’s efforts, 143; 
not considered in War of Independence, 


Antonelli, Juan Bautista, 
works in Cuba, I, 261; 
supply for Havana, 266. 

Apezteguia, Marquis de, 
leader, IV, 94. 

Apodaca, Juan Ruiz, Governor, II, 311. 

Arana, Martin de, warns Prado of Brit- 
ish approach, II, 

Arana, Melchior Sarto de, commander of 
La Fuerza, I, 237. 

Arana, Pedro de, royal accountant, I, 238. 

Aranda, Esquival, I, 

Arango, Augustin, murder of, III, 188. 

Arango, Napoleon, treason of, IIL, 226. 

Arango y Parefio, Francisco, portrait, 
frontispiece, Vol. II; organizes Society 
of Progress, II, 178; leadership in Cuba, 
191; attitude ‘toward slavery, 208; his 
illustrious career, 305 et seq. 

Aranguren, Nestor, revolutionist, IV, 85; 
death, 92. 

Araoz, Juan, II, 181. 

Arias, A. R., Governor, III, 314. 

Arias, Gomez, I, 145. 

Arignon, Villiet, quote II, 26, 94. 

Armona, José de, II, 108. 

Army, Cuban, organization of, III, 178; 
teorganized, 263; under Jose Miguel 
Gomez, IV, 301. 

Army, Spanish, in Cuba, i 181, 295. 

Aroztegui, Martin de, II, 

een Hews Martin pone histone II, 
17, 17 

Arredondo, Nicolas, Governor at Santiago, 

abet Gen. Ernesto, amnesty case, IV, 


engineering 
creates water 


Autonomist 


“‘Assiento’”’ compact on slavery, II, 2. 

Assumption, Our Lady of the, I, 61. 

Astor, John Jacob, aids War of Inde- 
pendence, IV, 14. 

Asylums for Insane, II, 317. 

Atares fortress, picture, II, 103. 

Atkins, John, book on West Indies, II, 
36 


Atrocities, committed by Spanish, III, 
250; Cespedes’s protest against, 254; 
“Book of Blood,’ 284; Spanish con- 
fession of, 286; war of destruction, 


7 


368 ) INDEX 


295; roiene “concentration’”’ policy, 

ete Cay. See GUANAHANI. 

Autonomist party, III, 305; IV, 34; atti- 
tude toward Campos in War of Inde- 
pendence, 59; Cabinet under Blanco, 94; 
earnest efforts for peace, 101; record of 
its government, 102. 

Avellanda, Gertrudis Gomez de, III, 331; 
portrait, facing, 332. 

Avila, Alfonso de, I, 154. 

Avila, Juan de, Governor, I, 151; marries 
rich widow, 154; charges against him, 
157; convicted and imprisoned, 158. 

Avila. See Davia. 

Aviles, Pedro Menendez de. See MENEN- 
DEZ. 

Ayala, Francisco P. de, I, 291. 

Ayllon, Lucas V. de, strives to make 
peace between Velasquez and Cortez, I, 
98. 

Azcarata, José Luis, peerelay of Justice, 
sketch and portrait, IV, 341 

Azcarate, Nicolas, sketch and portrait, 
III, 251, 332. 

Azcarraga, Gen., Spanish Premier, IV, 88. 


“‘BaBEQUE” sought by Columbus, I, 18. 

Bachiller, Antonio, sketch and portrait, 
PET) S17. 

Bacon,-Robert, Assistant Secretary of State 
of U. S., intervenes in revolution, IV, 
272. 

Bahia Honda, selected as U. S. naval 
station, IV, 256. 

Balboa, Vasco Nufez de, I, 55, 91. 

Bancroft, George, quoted, Te 269; Tl, aS 
24, 41, 117, 120, 159. 

Banderas, Quintin, revolutionist, IV, 34; 
raid, 57; death, 84. 

Baracoa, Columbus at, I, 18; Velasquez 
at, 60; picture, 60; first capital of Cuba, 
61, 168. 

Barreda, Baltazar, I, 201. 

Barreiro, Juan Bautista, Secretary of Ed- 
ucation, IV, 160. 

Barrieres, Manuel Garcia, II, 165. 

Barrionuevo, Juan Maldonado, Governor, 

Barsicourt, Juan Procopio. See SANTA 
Ciara, Conde. 

Bayamo, founded by Velasquez, I, 68, 
168; Cuban Republic organized there, 
TIT, 157. 

Bayoa, Pedro de, I, 300. 

ey of Cortez, reached by Columbus, I, 
25. 

Bees, introduced by Bishop Morell, II, 
104; increase of industry, 132. 

“Beggars of the Sea,” raid Cuban coasts, 

208. 

Bells, church, controversy over, II, 82. 

Bembrilla, Alonzo, hie bb 

Benavides, Juan de, I, 280. 

Berrea, Esteban Ss. de. BT, (6, 

Betancourt, Pedro, Civil Governor of 
Matanzas, IV, 179; loyal to Palma, 271. 

Betancourt. See CISNEROS. 

“Bimini,” Island of, I, 139. 

Bishops of Roman Catholic Church in 
Cuba, I, 122. 

“Black Eagle,’’ II, 346 

Black Warrior affair, III, 138. 


Blanchet Emilio, historian, Aig ae 
15, 24; on siege of Havana, 57, 
Bees Ramon, Governor, IV, 88; ae 
dertakes reforms, 89; plans Cuban au- 
tonomy, 93; on destruction of Maine, 

99; resigns, 121. 
Blue, Victor, observations at Santiago, 


IV, 110. 

Bobadilla, F. de, I, 54. 

Boca de la Yana, I, 18. 

“Bohio”” sought by Columbus, I, 18. 

Bolivar, Simon, II, 333; portrait, 334; 
‘Liberator,’ 334 et seq.; influence on 
Cuba, 341; “Soles de Bolivar,” 341. 

Bonel, Juan’ Bautista, II, 133. 

“Book of Blood,” III, 284. 

Bourne, Edward Gaylord, quoted, on slay- 
oo II, 209; on Spanish in America, 

Brinas, Felipe, III, 330. 

British policy toward Spain and Cuba, 
I, 270; aggressions in West Indies, 293; 
slave trade, II, 2; war of 1639, 22; de- 
signs upon Cuba,’ 41; expedition against 
Havana, 1762, 46; conquest of Cuba, 78; 
relinquishment to Spain, 92. See GREAT 
BRITAIN. 

Broa Bay, I, 22. 

Brooke, Gen. John R., receives Spanish 
surrender of Cuba, IV, 122; proclama- 
tion to Cuban people, 145; perce 157. 

Brooks, Henry, revolutionist, IV, 30. 

Buccaneers, origin of, I, 269. 

Buccarelli, Antonio Maria, Governor, II, 
110; retires, 115. 

Buchanan, James, on U. §. relations to 
Cuba, II, 263; III, 135; Minister to 
Great Britain, 142; as President seeks 
annexation of Cuba to VU. §., 143. 

Bull-fighting, II, 233. 

Burgos, Juan de, Bishop, I, 225. 

Burtoet Spanish spy against Lopez, III, 


Bustamente, Antonio Sanchez de, jurist, 
sketch and portrait, IV, 165. 


CABALLERO, José Agustin, sketch and por- 
trait, III, 321. 

Caballo, Domingo, TS 1Y3: 

Cabanas, defences constructed, II, 58; 
Laurel Ditch, view, facing, 58. 

Cabellero, Diego de, I, 111. 

Cabezas, Bishop, I, 277. 

Cabrera, Diego de, I, 206. 

Cabrera, Luis, I, 198. 

Cabrera, Lorene de, Governor, I, 279; 
removed, 

Cabrera, el filibuster, IV, 70. 


Cabrera, Raimundo, conspirator in New 


York, IV, 334; warned, 3 

Cadreyta, Marquis de, I, 279. 

Cagigal, Juan Manuel de, Governor, II, 
154; defence of Havana, 155; removed 
and imprisoned, 157, 

Cagigal, Juan Manuel, Governor, II, 313; 
successful administration, 315. 

Cagigal de la Vega, Francisco, defends 
Santiago, II, 29; Governor, 32; Viceroy 
of Mexico, 34. 

Caguax, Cuban chief, I, 63. 

Calderon, Gabriel, Bishop, ¥, 315, 

Calderon, Garcia, quoted, II, 164, 172. 

Calderon de la Barca, Spanish ‘Minister, 


INDEX 


on La Verdad, III, 19; on colonial 
status, 21; negotiations with Soulé, 140. 
Calhoun, John C., on Cuba, III, 132. 
Calleja y Isisi, Emilio, Governor, III, 
313; proclaims martial law, IV, 30; re- 
signs, 35. 
Camaguey. See Puerto Principe, I, 168. 
Campbell, John, description of Havana, 
14. 


Campillo, Jose de, II, 19. 

Campos, Martinez de, Governor, III, 296; 
proclamations to Cuba, 297, 299: 
makes Treaty of Zanjon and ends Ten 
Years War, 299; in Spanish crisis, IV, 
36; Governor again, or: establishes 
Trocha, 44; defeated by Maceo, 46; con- 
ferences with party leaders, 59, 63; re- 
moved, 63. 

Cancio, Leopoldo, Secretary of Treasury, 
IV, 161, 320. 

Canizares, Santiago J., Minister of In- 
terior, IV, 48. 

Canning, George, policy toward Cuba, II, 
257; portrait, 258. 

Canoe, of Cuban origin, I, 10. 

Canon, Rodrigo, I, 111 

Canovas del Castillo, Spanish Premier, IV, 
36; assassinated, 88. 

Cape Cruz, Columbus at, I, 20. 

Cape Maysi, I, 4. 

Cape of Palms, I, 17. 

Capote, Domingo Menendez, Vice-Presi- 
dent, IV, 90; Secretary of State, 146; 
President of Constitutional Convention, 

Carajaval, Lucas, defies Dutch, I, 290. 

Cardenas, Lopez lands at, III, 49. 

Caribs, I, 8. 

Carillo, Francisco, filibuster, IV, 55. 

Carleton, Sir Guy, at Havana, TI, 47. 

Carranza, Domingo Gonzales, book on 
West Indies, II, 37. 

Carrascesa, Alfonso, II, 6. 

Carrefio, Francisco, Governor, I, 219; con- 
ditions at his accession, 228; dies in of- 
ae 229; work in rebuilding Havana, 

Carroll, James, in yellow fever campaign, 


se de Beneficienca, founded, I, 335; II, 

177. 

Casa de Resorgiamento, founded, II, 31. 

Casares, Alfonso, codifies municipal or- 
dinances, I, 207. 

Castellanos, Jovellar, last Spanish Gov- 
ernor of Cuba, IV, 121; surrenders 
Spanish sovereignty, 123. 

Castillo, Demetrio, Civil 
Oriente, IV, 180. 

Castillo, Ignacio Maria del, Governor, III, 
314. 

Castillo, Loinaz, revolutionist, IV, 269. 

Castillo, Pedro del, Bishop, I, 226. 

Castro, Hernando de, royal treasurer, I, 
1S, 

Cathcart Lord, expedition to West Indies, 

28 


Governor of 


i, 28. 

Cathedral of Havana, picture, facing I, 
36; begun, I, 310. 

Cat Island. See GUANAHANI. 

Cayo, San Juan de los Remedios del, 
removal of, I, 319. 

Cazones, Gulf of, SFA 

Cemi, Cuban worship of, I, 55. 


369 


Census, of Cuba, first taken, by Torre, 
II, 131; by Las Casas, 176; of slaves, 
205; of 1775, 276; of 1791, 277; Hum- 
boldt on, 277; of 1811, 280; of 1817, 281; 
of 1827, 283; of 1846, 283; of 1899, IV, 
154; of 1907, 287. 

Cespedes, Carlos Manuel, III, 157; 
trait, facing 158; in Spain, 158; 
Cuban revolution, 158; President of 
Republic, 158; proclamation, 168; ne- 
gotiations with Spain, 187; removed 


from office, 275. 
Cespedes, Carlos Manuel, filibuster, IV, 


por- 
leads 


Cespedes, Enrique, revolutionist, IV, 30. 

Cervera, Admiral, brings Spanish fleet to 
Cuba, IV, 110; portrait, 110; surrenders, 
114. 


Chacon, José Bayoma, II, 13. 

Chacon, Luis, I, 331, 3. 

Cone Sr, Secretary of Public Works, 

Chamber of Commerce founded, II, 307. 

Charles I, King, I, 74; denounces oppres- 
sion of Indians, 128. 

Chaves, Antonio, Governor, I, 157; prose- 
cutes Avila, 157; ruthless policy toward 
natives, 159; controversy with King, 
160; dismissed from office, 1 

Chaves, Juan Baton de, I, 331. 

Chilton, John, ‘describes Havana, I, 349. 

Chinchilla, José, Governor, III, 314. 

Chinese, colonies in America, hy 7; la- 
borers imported into Cuba, II, 295. 

Chorrera, expected to be Drake’s land- 
ing place, I, 248. 

Cheney River, dam built by Antonelli, 

Christianity, introduced into Cuba by 
Gieds, I, 55; urged by King Ferdinand, 


Church, Roman Catholic, organized and 
influential in Cuba, I, 122; cathedral 
removed from Baracoa to Santiago, 123; 
conflict with civil power, 227; contro- 
versy with British during British oc- 
cupation, II, 84; division of island 
into two dioceses, 173; attitude toward 
War of Independence, IV, 26; contro- 
versy over property, 294. 

Cienfuegos, José, Governor, II, 311. 

Cimmarones, ‘“‘wild Indians,’’ I, 126; re- 
volt against De Soto, 148. 

Cipango, Cuba identified with, by Co- 
lumbus, I, 5. 

Cisneros, Gaspar Betancourt, sketch and 
portrait, II, 379. 

Cisneros, Pascal Jiminez de, II, 110, 127. 

Cisneros, Salvador, III, 167; sketch and 
portrait, 276; President of Cuban Re- 
public, 277; President of Council of 
Ministers, Iv, 48; in Constitutional 
Convention, 190. 

Civil Service, law, IV, 325; respected by 
President Menocal, 325. 

Clay, Henry, policy toward Cuba, II, 261. 

Clayton, John M., S. Secretary of 
State, issues procaeanen against fili- 
bustering, III, 

Cleaveland, Bee, 
church bells, II, 83. 

Cleveland, Grover, President of United 
States, issues warning against breaches 
of neutrality, IV, 70; reference to Cuba 


controversy over 


370 


in message of 1896, 79; its significance, 
80. 


Coat of Arms of Cuba, picture, IV, 251; 
significance, 251. 

Cobre, copper mines, I, 173, 259. 

“Cockfighting and Idleness’’ campaign, 
IV, 291. 

Coffee, cultivation begun, II, 33, 113. 

Coinage, reformed, II, 142; statistics of, 
158. 


Collazo, Enrique, filibuster, IV, 55. 
Coloma, Antonio Lopez, revolutionist, IV, 
30 


Colombia, designs upon Cuba, II, 262; 
III, 134; attitude toward Cuban revolu- 
tion, 223. 

Columbus, 
Spain, I, 57. 

Columbus, Christopher, portrait, frontis- 
piece, Vol. I; discoverer of America, I, 
i; first landing in America, 2; monu- 
ment on Watling’s Island, picture, 3; 
arrival in Cuba, 11; question as to 
first landing place, 12; first impres- 
sions of Cuba and intercourse with na- 
tives, 14; exploration of north coast, 16; 
end of first visit, 18; second visit, 19; 
exploration of south coast, 21; at Bay 
of Cortez, 25; turms back from circum- 
navigation, 26; at Isle of Pines, 26; 
final departure from Cuba, 27; diary 
and narrative, 28 et seq.; death and 
burial, 33; tomb in Havana cathedral, 
34; removal to Seville, 36; removal 
from Santo Domingo to Havana, II, 
181; epitaph, 182. 

Columbus, Diego, plans exploration and 
colonization of Cuba, I, 57; attempts 
mediation between Velasquez and Cor- 
tez, 97; replaces Velasquez with Zuazo, 
100; rebuked by King, 100. 

Comendador, Cacique, I, 55. 

Commerce, begun by Velasquez, I, 68; 
rise of corporations, II, 19; after Brit- 
ish occupation, 98; under Torre, 132; 
reduction of duties, 141; extension of 
trade, 163; Tribunal of Commerce 
founded, 177; Real Compania de Ha- 
vana, 199; restrictive measures, 200; 
Chamber of Commerce founded, 307; 
commerce with United States, III, 2; 
during American occupation, IV, 184; 
present, 358. 

Compostela, Diego E. de, Bishop, I, 318; 
death, 332. 

Concepcion, Columbus’s landing place, I, 
3 


Bartholomew, recalled to 


Concessions, forbidden under American 
occupation, IV, 153. 

Concha, José Gutierrez de la, Governor, 
III, 62, 290. 

Conchillos, royal secretary, I, 59. 
Congress, Cuban, welcomed by_ Gen. 
Wood, IV, 246; turns against Palma, 
269; friendly to Gomez, 303; hostile 
to Menocal, 323; protects the lottery, 
324 


Constitution: Cuban Republic of 1868, 
III, 157; of 1895, IV, 47; call for 
Constitutional Convention, 185; meeting 
of Convention, 187; c-aft completed, 
192; salient provisions, 193; Elihu Root’s 
comments, 194; Convention discusses re- 
lations with United States, 197; Platt 


INDEX 


Amendment, 199; amendment adopted, 
203; text of Constitution, 304 et seq.; 
The Nation, 205; Cubans, 205; Foreign- 
ers, 207; Individual Rights, 208; Suf- 
frage, 211; Suspension of Guarantees, 
212; Sovereignty, 213; Legislative Bodies, 
214; Senate, 214; House of Represen- 
tatives, 216; Congress, 218; Legislation, 
221; Executive, 222; President, 222; 
Vice-President, 225; Secretaries of State, 
226; Judiciary, 227; Supreme Court, 
227; Administration of Justice, 228; 
Provincial Governments, 229; Provincial 
Councils, 230; Provincial Governors, 
231; Municipal Government, 233; Mu- 
nicipal Councils, 233; Mayors, 235; Na- 
tional Treasury, 235; Amendments, 236; 
Transient Provisions, 237; Appendix 
(Platt Amendment), 238. 

“Constitutional Army,” IV, 268. 

Contreras, Andres Manso de, I, 288. 

Contreras, Damien, I, 278. 

Convents, founded, I, 276; Nuns of Santa 
Clara, 286. 

Conyedo, Juan de, Bishop, II, 35. 

Copper, discovered near Santiago, I, 173; 
wealth of mines, 259; reopened, II, 13; 
exports, III, 3. 

Corbalon, Francisco R., I, 286. 

Condens de Vega, Diego de, Governor, I, 


Cordova, Francisco H., expedition to 
Yucatan, I, 84. 4 

Cordova Ponce de Leon, Jose Fernandez, 
Governor, I, 316. 

Coreal, Francois, account of West Indies, 
quoted, I, 355. 

Coreuaae; Manuel, gift for air planes, IV, 


Cortes, Spanish, Cuban representation in, 
II, 308; excluded, 351; lack of represen- 
tation, III, 3; after Ten Years’ War, 307. 

Cortez, Hernando, Alcalde of Santiago de 
Cuba, I, 72; sent to Mexico by King, 74; 
agent of Velasquez, 86; early career, 90; 
portrait, 90; quarrel with Velasquez, 
91; marriage, 92; commissioned by 
Velasquez to explore Mexico, 92; sails 
for Mexico, 94; final breach with Velas- 
quez, 96; denounced as rebel, 97; es- 
capes murder, 99. 

Cosa, Juan de la, geographer, I, 6, 53. 

Councillors, appointed for life, I, 111; 
conflict with Procurators, 113. 

Creoles, origin of name, II, 204. 
Crittenden, J. J., protests against Euro- 
pean intervention in Cuba, III, 129. 
Crittenden, William S., with Lopez, III, 

96; captured, 101; death, 105. 

Crombet, Flor, revolutionist, IV, 41, 42. 

Crooked Island. See ISABELLA. 

Crowder, Gen. Enoch H,, head of Con- 
sulting Board, IV, 284. 

Cuba: Relation to America, I, 1; 
Columbus’s first landing, 3; identified 
with Mangi or Cathay, 4; with Cipango, 
£; earliest maps, 6; physical history, 7, 
37 et seq.; Columbus’s discovery, 11 
et seq.; named Juana, 13; other names, 
14; Columbus’s account of, 28; geologi- 
cal history, 37-42; topography, 42-51; 
climate, 51-52; first circumnavigation, 
54; colonization, 54; Velasquez at Bara- 
coa, 60; commerce begun, 68; govern- 


INDEX 


ment organized, 69; named Ferdinan- 
dina, 73; policy of Spain toward, 175; 
slow economic progress, 215; land legis- 
lation, 232; Spanish discrimination 
against, 266; divided into two districts, 
275; British description in 1665, 306; 
various accounts, 346; turning point in 
history, 363; close of first era, 366; 
British conquest, II, 78; relinquished to 
Spain, 92; great changes effected, 94; 
economic condition, 98; reoccupied by 
Spain, 102; untouched by early revolu- 
tions, 165; effect of revolution in Santo 
Domingo, 190; first suggestion of an- 
nexation to United States, 257; ‘‘Ever 
Faithful Isle,’ 268; rise of independ- 
ence, 268; censuses, 276 et seq.; repre- 
sentation in Cortes, 308; ‘‘Soles de 
Bolivar,’’ 341; representatives rejected 
from Cortes, 351; transformation of 
popular spirit, 383; independence pro- 
claimed, III, 145; "Republic organized, 
157; War of Independence, VS 1S: 
Spanish elections held during war, 67; 
Blanco’s plan of autonomy, 93; sover- 
eignty surrendered by Spain, 123; list 
of Spanish Governors, 123. See REPUB- 
LIc OF CUBA. 

Cuban Aborigines: I, 8; manners, cus- 
toms and religion, 8 et seq.; Columbus’s 
first intercourse, 15, 24; priest’s address 
to Columbus, 26; Columbus’s observa- 
tions of them, 29; hostilities begun by 
Velasquez, 61; subjected to Reparti- 
miento system, 70; practical slavery, 71; 
Key Indians, 125; Cimmarones, 126; 
new laws in their favor, 129; Rojas’s 
endeavor to save them, 130; final doom, 
133; efforts at reform, 153; oppression 
by Chaves, 159; Angulo’s emancipation 
proclamation, 1 

“Cuba-nacan,”’ I, 

“Cuba and the ae quoted, II, 313. 

“Cuba y Su Gobierno,’ quoted, II, 354. 

Cuellar, Cristobal de, royal accountant, 


I, 59. 

Cushing, Caleb, Minister to Spain, III, 
291. 

Custom House, first at Havana, I, 231. 


Dapy, Michael J., & Co., contract dis- 
pute, IV, 9. 

Davila, Pedrarias, I, 140. 

Davis, Jefferson, declines to join Lopez, 


I 
Del Casal, 
IV, 


Del aes José A., Peeoden’ of Supreme 
Court, portrait, Iv, 

Delgado, Moru, Liberal micade IV, 267. 

Del Monte, Domingo, sketch, portrait, and 
work, II, 323. 

Del Monte, 
trait, IV, 2. 

Demobilization of Cuban army, IV, 135. 

Desvernine, Pablo, Secretary of Finance, 


Julian, sketch and portrait, 


Ricardo, sketch and por- 


Diaz, Bernal, at Sancti Spiritus, I, 72; 


Diaz, Manuel, Te 239. 

Diaz, Manuel Luciano, Secretary of Pub- 
lic Works, IV, 254. 

Diaz, Modeste, III, 263. 

Divino, Sr., Secretary of Justice, IV, 297. 


S71 


Dockyard at Havana, established, II, 8. 

Dolz, ras in Autonomist Cabinet, 

Dominguez, Fermin V., Assistant Secretary 
of foreign Affairs, Tv, 50. 

Dorst, J. H., mission to Pinar del Rio, 
IV, 107. 

“Dragado” deal, IV, 310. 

Drake, Sir Francis, menaceg Havana, I, 
243; in Hispaniola, 246; leaves Havana 
unassailed, 252; departs for Virginia, 


Duany, Joaquin Castillo, in Cuban Junta, 
IV, 12; Assistant Secretary of Treas- 
ury, 50; filibuster, 70. 

Dubois, Carlos, Assistant Secretary of In- 
terior, IV, 50. 

Duero, Andres de, I, 93, 115. 

Dulce y Garay, Domingo, Governor, III, 
190, 194; decree of confiscation, 209; 
recalled, 213. 

Dupuy de Lome, Sr., Spanish Minister at 


Washington, IV, 40; writes offensive 
letter, 98; recalled, 98. 

Duque, Sr., Secretary of Sanitation and 
Charity, IV, 297. 


Durango, Bishop, I, 225. 
Dutch hostilities, I, "208, 279; activities in 
West Indies, 283 et seq. 


EARTHQUAKES, in 1765, I, 315; II, 114. 

Echeverria, Esteban B., Superintendent 
of Schools, IV, 162. 

Echeverria, José, Bishop, II, 113. 

Echeverria, José Antonio, III, 324. 


Echeverria, Juan Maria, Governor, II, 
Education, backward state of, II, 244; 
progress under American occupation, 
IV, 156; A. E. Frye, Superintendent, 


156; reorganization of system, 162; 
Harvard University’s entertainment of 
teachers, 163; achievements under Presi- 
dent Menocal, 357. 

Elections: for municipal officers under 
American occupation, IV, 180; law for 
regulation of, 180; result, 181; for Con- 
stitutional Convention, 186; for general 
Officers, 240; result, 244; Presidential, 
1906, 265; new law, 287; “local elections 
under Second Intervention, 289; Presi- 
dential, 290; for Congress in 1908, 303; 


Presidential, 1912, 309; Presidential, 
ae disputed, 330, result confirmed, 
341. 

Enciso, Martin F. de, first Spanish 


writer about America, I, 54. 

Epidemics: putrid fever, 1649, I, 290; 
vaccination introduced, II, 192; small 
pox and yellow fever, III, 313; at Santi- 
ago, IV, 142; Gen. Wood applies Dr. 
Finlay’s theory of yellow fever, 171; 
success, 176; malaria, 177 

Escudero, Antonio, de, II, 10. 

Espada, Juan José Diaz, portrait, facing 

Espagnola. See HIsPANIOLA. 

Espeleta, Joaquin de, Governor, II, 362. 

Espings) Alonzo de Campos, Governor, 

Espoleto, José de, Governor, II, 169. 

Estenoz, Negro insurgent, IV, 307. 

Estevez, Luis, Secretary of Justice, IV, 
160; Vice-President, 245, 


372 INDEX 


Evangelista. See Iste or Prnes. 
Everett, Edward, policy toward Cuba, 


III, 130. 
“Ever Faithful Isle,’’ II, 268, 304. 
Exquemeling, Alexander, author and 
pirate, I, 302. 


“‘Famity Pact,’ of Bourbons, effect upon 
Cuba, II, 42. 

Felin, Antonio, Bishop, II, 172. 

Fee Cornelius, defeated by Spanish, I, 


Ferdinand, King, policy toward Cuba, I, 
56; esteem for Velasquez, 73 

Ferdinandina, Columbus’s landing place, 
I, 3; name for Cuba, 73. 

Ferrara, Orestes, Liberal leader, IV, 260; 
revolutionist, 269; deprecates factional 
strife, 306; revolutionary conspirator in 
New York, 334; warned by U. S. Gov- 
ernment, I, 239. 

Ferrer, Juan de, commander of La 
Fuerza, I, 239. 

Figueroa, Vasco Porcallo de, I, 72; De 
Soto’s lieutenant, 142; returns from 
Florida in disgust, 145. 

PIpHELOS, Rojas de, captures Tortuga, 

Filarmonia, riot at ball, III, 119. 

Filibustering, proclamation of United 
States against, III, 42; after Ten Years’ 
War, 311; in War of Independence, IV, 
20; expeditions intercepted, 52; many 
successful expeditions, 69; warnings, 70. 

Fine Arts, II, 240. 

Finlay, Carlos G., theory of yellow fever 
successfully applied under General 
Wood, IV, 171; portrait, facing 172. 

Fish, Hamilton, U. S. Secretary of State, 
prevents premature recognition of Cuban 
Republic, III, 203; protests against 
Rodas’s decree, 216; on losses in Ten 
Years’ War, 290; seeks British support, 
292; states terms of proposed mediation, 
293, 


Fish market at Havana, founder for 
pirate, II, 357. 

Fiske, John, historian, quoted, I, 270. 

Flag, Cuban, first raised, III, 31; re- 
places American, IV, 249; picture, 250; 
history and significance, 250. 

Flores y Aldama, Rodrigo de, Governor, 


s Le 

Florida, attempted colonization by Ponce 
de Leon, I, 139; De Soto’s expedition, 
145. See MENENDEZ. 

Fonseca, Juan Rodriguez de, Bishop of 
Seville, I, 59. 

Fonts-Sterling, Emesto, Secretary of 
Finance, IV, 90; urges resistance to 
revolution, 270. 

Fornaris, José, III, 230. 

Forestry, attention paid by Montalvo, I, 
223; efforts to check waste, II, 166. 

Foyo, Sr., Secretary of Agriculture, Com- 
merce and Labor, IV, is 

France, first foe of Spanish in Cuba, I, 
177; ‘‘Family Pact,’ II, 42; interest in 
Cuban revolution, III, 126. 

Franquinay, pirate, at Santiago, I, 310. 

French refugees, in Cuba, II, 189; ex- 
pelled, 302. 

French Revolution, effects of, II, 184. 

Freyre y Andrade, Fernando, filibuster, 


aX 70; negotiations with Pino Guerra, 


Foe Alexis, Superintendent of Schools, 
IV, 156; controversy with General 
Wood, 162. 

Fuerza, La: picture, facing I, 146; build- 
ing begun by De Soto, 1, 147; scene of 
Lady Isabel’s tragic vigil, 147, 179; 
planned and built by Sanchez, 194: 
work by Menendez, and Ribera, 209; 
slave labor sought, 211; bad construc- 
tion, 222; Montalvo’s recommendations, 
223; Luzan-Arana quarrel, 237; practi- 
i ‘completion, 240; decorated by Cagi- 
ga , 


Gatvano, Antony, historian, quoted, I, 4. 
Galvez, Bernardo, seeks Cuban aid for 
Ge II, 146; Governor, 168; death, 


Galvez, José Maria, head of Autonomist 
Cabinet, IV, 95. 

Garaondo, José, I, 317. 

Garay, Francisco de, Governor of Ja- 
maica, I, 102. 

Garcia, Calixto, portrait, facing III, 268; 
President of Cuban Republic, III, 301; 
joins War of Independence, IV, 69; his 
notable career, 76 et seq.; joins with 
Shafter at Santiago, 111; death, 241. 

Garcia, Carlos, revolutionist, IV, 269. 

Garcia, Esequiel, Secretary of Education, 
V, 320. 

Garcia, Marcos, IV, 44. 

Garcia, Quintiliano, III, 329. 

Garvey, José N. P., Il, 222. 

Gastaneta, Antonio, II, 9. 

Gelder, Francisco, Governor, I, 292. 

Gener y Rincon, Miguel, Secretary of 
Justice, IV, 161. 

Geraldini, Felipe, I, 310. 

Germany, malicious course of in 1898, 
IV, 104; Cuba declares war against, 
348; property in Cuba seized, 349; aid 
to Gomez, 350. 

Gibson, Hugh S., U. S. Chargé d’ Affaires, 
assaulted, IV, "308. 

Giron, Garcia, Governor, I, 279. 

Godoy, Captain, arrested at Santiago, and 
put to death, I, 203. 

Godoy, Manuel, II, 172. 

Goicouria, Domingo, sketch and portrait, 
III, 234. 

Gold, Columbus's quest for, I, 19; Velas- 
quez’s search, 61; the ‘‘Spaniards’ God,”’ 
ee early mining, 81; value of mines, 


Gomez, José Antonio, II, 18. 

Gomez, Jose Miguel, Civil Governor of 
Santa Clara, IV, 179; aspires to Presi- 
dency, 260, 264; turns from Conserva- 
tive to Liberal party, 265; compact with 
Zayas, 265; starts revolution, 269; 
elected President, 290; becomes Presi- 
dent, 297; Cabinet, 297; sketch and 
portrait, 298; acts of his administration, 
301; charged with corruption, 304; con- 
flict with Veterans’ Association, 304; 
quarrel with Zayas, 306; suppresses 
Negro revolt, 307; amnesty bill, 309; 
National Lottery, 310; “Dragado’”’ deal, 
310; railroad deal, 310; estimate of his 
administration, 311; double treason in 
1916, 332; defeated and captured, 337; 


INDEX 


his orders for devastation, 337; aided 
by Germany, 350 

Gomez, Juan Gualberto, revolutionist, IV, 
30; captured and imprisoned, 52; in- 
surgent, 269. 

Gomez, Maximo, III, 264; succeeds Gen. 
Agramonte, 275; makes Treaty of Zan- 
jon with Campos, 299; in War of Inde- 
pendence, IV, 15; commander in chief, 
16, 43; portrait, facing 44; plans great 
campaign of war, 53; controversy with 
Lacret, 84; opposed to American inva- 
sion, 109; appeals to Cubans to accept 
American occupation, 136; impeach- 
ment by National Assembly ignored, 
137; influence during Government of 
Intervention, 149; considered by Con- 
stitutional Convention, 191; proposed for 
Presidency, 240; declines, 241. 

Gonzalez, Aurelia Castillo de, 
sketch and portrait, IV, 192. 

Gonzales, William E., U. S. Minister to 
Cuba, IV, 335; watches Gomez’s insur- 
rection, 336. 

Gorgas, William C., work for sanitation, 


author, 


Government of Cuba: organized by Ve- 
lasquez, I, 69; developed at Santiago, 
81; radical changes made, 111; revolu- 
tion in political status of island, 138; 
codification of ordinances, 207; Ordi- 
nances of 1542, 317; land tenure, II, 12; 
reforms by Governor Guemez, 17; re- 
organization after British occupation, 
104; great reforms by Torre, 132; budget 
and tax reforms, 197; authority of Cap- 
tain-General, III, 11; administrative and 
judicial functions, 13 et seq.; military 
and naval command, 16; attempted re- 
forms, 63; concessions after Ten Years’ 
War, 310. 

Senn of Cuba, Spanish, list of, IV, 
12. 


Govin, Antonio, in Autonomist Cabinet, 
IV, 95; sketch and portrait, 

Grammont, buccaneer, I, 311. 

Gran Caico, I, 4. 

Grand Turk Island. See GuANAHANI. 

Grant, U. S., President of United States, 
III, 200; inclined to recognize Cuban 
Republic, 202; prevented by his Secre- 
tary of State, 203; comments in mes- 
sages, 205, 292. 

Great Britain, interest in Cuban revolu- 
tion, III, 125; protection sought by 
Spain, 129; declines cooperation with 
United States, 294; requires return of 
fugitives, 310. 

Great Exuma. See FERDINANDINA. 

Great Inagua, I, 4. 

Great War, Cuba enters, IV, 348; offers 
10,000 troops, 348; German intrigues and 
propaganda, 349: attitude of Roman 
Catholic clergy, 349; ships seized, 350; 
cooperation with Food Commission, 
351; military activities, 352; liberal sub- 
scriptions to loans, 352; Red Cross work, 
352; Senora Menocal’s inspiring leader- 
ship, 353. 

Grijalva, Juan de, I, 65; expedition to 
Mexico, 66; names Mexico New Spain, 
97; unjustly recalled and discredited, 


Guajaba Island, I, 18. 


373 


Guama, Cimmarron chief, I, 127. 
Guanabacoa founded, II, 21. 
Guanahani, Columbus’s landing place, 


Guanajes Islands, source of slave trade, 


Sh. 

Guantanamo, Colne at,o2) 19. Uls- 
Naval Station, IV, 

Guardia, Cristobal ae ts 
Justice, IV, 320. 

Guazo, Gregorio, de la Vega, Governor, 
I, 340; stops tobacco war, 341; warnings 
to Great Britain and France, "342: mili- 
tary activity and efficiency, II, 5. 

Guemez y Horcasitas, Juan F., Governor, 
II, 17; reforms, 17; close of administra- 
tion, 26. 

Guerra, Amador, revolutionist, IV, 30. 

Guerra, Benjamin, treasurer of Junta, 


Secretary of 


Guerro, Pino, starts insurrection, IV, 267, 
269; commander of Cuban army, 301; 
attempt to assassinate him, 303. 

Guevara, Francisco, III, 265. 

Guiteras, Juan, physlear aed scientist, 
sketch and portrait, IV, 

Gate Pedro J., ee *r 269; II, 6; 

Guzman, Gonzalez de, mission from Ve- 
lasquez to King Charles I, I, 85; vindi- 
cates Velasquez, 108; Governor of Cuba, 
110; marries rich sister-in-law, 116; liti- 
gation over estate, 117; tremendous in- 
dictment by Vadillo, 120; appeals to 
King and Council for Indies, 120; seeks 
to oppress natives, 128; second time 
Governor, 137; makes more trouble, 
ase trouble with French privateers, 
178. 


Guzman, Nunez de, royal freasurer, I, 
109; death and fortune, 115 

Guzman, Santos, spokesman of Constitu- 
tionalists, IV, 59. 


Hammock, of Cuban origin, I, 1 
Hanebanilla, falls of, view, Peete III, 
110. 


Harponville, Viscount Gustave, quoted, II, 


Harvard University, entertains Cuban 
teachers, IV, 163. 

Hatuey, Cuban chief, leader against Span- 
iards, I, 62; death, 63. 

Havana: founded by Narvaez, I, 69; De 
Soto’s home and capital, 144; rise in 
importance, 166; Governor’s permanent 
residence, 180; inadequate defences, 183; 
captured by Sores, 186; protected by 
Mazariegos, 194; sea wall proposed by 
Osorio, 202; fortified by Menendez, 
209; “Key of the New World,” 210; 
commercial metropolis of West Indies, 
216; first hospital founded, 226; San 
Francisco church,_ picture, facing 226; 
building in Carreno’s time, 231; custom 
house, 231; threatened by Drake, 243; 
preparations for defence, 250; officially 
called ‘“‘city,’”’ 262; coat of arms, 202; 
primitive conditions, 264; first theatri- 
cal performance, 264; capital of western 
district, 275; great fire, 277; attacked by 
Pit Hein, 280; described by John Chil- 
ton, 349; first dockyard established, II, 
8; attacked by British under Admiral 


374 INDEX 


Hosier, 9; University founded, 11; de- 
scribed by John Campbell, 14; British 
expedition against in 1762, 46; journal 
of siege, 54; American troops engaged, 
66; surrender, 69; terms, 71; British 
occupation, 78; great changes, 94; de- 
scription, 94; view from Cabanas, facing 
96; reoccupied by Spanish, 102; hurri- 
cane, 115; improvements in streets and 
buildings, 129; view in Old Havana, 
facing 130; street cleaning, and market, 
169; slaughter house removed, 194; shop- 
ping, 242; cafés, 243; Tacon’s * public 
works, 365; view of old Presidential 
Palace, facing III, 14; view of the 
Prado, facing IV, 16; besieged in War 
of Independence, 62; view of bay and 
harbor, facing 98; old City Wall, pic- 
ture, 122; view of old and new build- 
ings, facing 134; General Ludlow’s ad- 
ministration, 146; Police reorganized, 
150; view of University, facing 164; 
view of the new capitol, facing 204; 
view of the President’s home, facing 
268; view of the Academy of Arts and 
Crafts, facing 288; new railroad ter- 
minal, 311. 

Hay, John, epigram on revolutions, IV, 
343. 


Hayti. See HIsPANIOLA. 
Hein, Pit, Dutch raider, I, 279. 
Henderson, John, on Lopez’s expedition, 


Herald, New York, on Cuban revolution, 


Heredia, José Maria, II, 274; exiled, 344; 
life and works, III, 318; portrait, facing 
318, 


Hernani, Domingo, II, 170. 

Herrera, historian, on Columbus’s first 
landing, I, 12; on Hatuey, 62; descrip- 
tion of West Indies, 345. 

Herrera, Geronimo Bustamente de, I, 
194 


Hevea, Aurelio, Secretary of Interior, IV, 


Hispaniola, Columbus at, I, 19; revolu- 
tion in, II, 173; 186; effect upon Cuba, 
189. 

Hobson, Richmond P., exploit at Santiago, 

, 110. 

Holleben, Dr. von, German Ambassador 
at Washington, intrigues of, IV, 104. 
Home Rule, proposed by Spain, IV, 6; 

adopted, 

Horses introduced into Cuba, I, 63. 

Hosier, Admiral, attacks Havana, I, 312; 


I, 9. 

Hospital, first in Havana, I, 226; Belen 
founded, 318; San Paula and San Fran- 
cisco, 195. 

“House of Fear,’’ Governor’s home, I, 156. 

Humboldt, Alexander von, on _ slavery, 
II, 206; on census, 277; 282; on slave 
trade, 288. 

Hurricanes, II, 115, 176, 310. 

Hurtado, Lopez, royal treasurer, I, 116; 
has Chaves removed, 162. 


Teeee Carlos, defeats Dutch raiders, I, 
Incas, LTR 


Independence, first conceived, II, 268; 
326; first revolts for, 343; sentiment fos- 


tered by slave trade, 377; proclaimed by 
Aguero, III, 72; proclaimed by Cespedes 
at Yara, 155; proposed by United States 
to Spain, 217; War of Independence, 
IV, 1; recognized by Spain, 119. See 
War oF INDEPENDENCE. 

Intellectual life of Cuba, I, 360; lack of 
productiveness in Sixteenth Century, 
362; Cuban backwardness, II, 235; first 
important progress, 273; great arising 
and splendid achievements, III, 317 

Insurrections. See REVOLUTIONS, and 
SLAVERY. 

Intervention, Government of: First, es- 
tablished, IV, 132; organized, 145; 
Cuban Cabinet, 145; saves island from 
famine, 146; works of rehabilitation and 
reform, 148; marriage law, 152; conces- 
sions forbidden, 153; census, 154; civil 
governments of provinces, 179; munici- 
pal elections ordered, 180; electoral law, 
180; final transactions, 246; Second 
Government of Intervention, 281; C. E. 
Magoon, Governor, 281; Consulting 
Board, 284; elections held, 289, 290; 
commission for revising laws, 294; con- 
troversy over church property, 294. 

Intervention sought by Great Britain and 
France, III, 128; by United States, IV, 


Iroquois, I, 7. 

Irving, Washington, on Columbus’s land- 
ing place, I, 12. 

Isabella, Columbus's landing place, I, 3. 

Isabella, Queen, portrait, ay 

Isidore of Seville, quoted, ag 4. 

Islas de Arena, I, 11. 

Isle of Pines, I, 26; recognized as part 
of Cuba, 224; status under Platt Amend- 
ment, IV, 255. 

Italian settlers in Cuba, I, 169. 

Ivonnet, Negro insurgent, IV, 307. 


Jamaica, Columbus at, I, 20. 

Japan. See CIPANco. 

Jaruco, founded, II, 131. 

Jefferson, Thomas, on Cuban annexation, 
II, 260; III, 132. 

Jeronimite Order, made guardian of In- 
cians, I, 78; becomes their oppressor, 

Jesuits, controversy over, II, 86; expul- 
sion of, 111. 

ae Thomas, joins Cuban revolution, 

Jorrin, Tost Silverio, portrait, facing III, 


Jovellar, Joachim, Governor, III, 273; 
pioeeas state of siege, 289; resigns, 


Juana, Columbus’s first name for Cuba, 

Juan Luis Keys, I, 21. 

Judiciary, reforms in, II, 110; under 
Navarro, 142; under Unzaga, 165; un- 
der Leonard Wood, IV, 177. 

Junta, Cuban, in United States, III, 91; 
New York, IV, 2; branches elsewhere, 
3; policy in enlisting men, 19. 

Junta de Fomento, II, 178. 

Juntas of the Laborers, III, 174. 


Kepret, Gen, See ALBEMARLE. 


INDEX 


Bey teins, I, 125; expedition against, 
1 


“Key of the New World and Bulwark of 
the Indies,” I, 210. 
Kindelan, Sebastian de, II, 197, 315. 


Lacoste, Perfecto, Secretary of Agricul- 
ture, Industry and Commerce, IV, 160. 
Land tenure, II, 12; absentee landlords, 

214, 


Lanuza, Gonzalez, Secretary of Justice, 
IV, 146; portrait, 146. 

Lares, Amador de, I, 93. 

La Salle; in Cuba, I, 73. 

Las Casas, Bartholomew, Apostle to the 
Indies, arrival in Cuba, I, 63; portrait, 
64; denounces Narvaez, 66; begins cam- 
paign against slavery, 75; mission to 
Spain, 77; before Ximenes, 77. 

Casas, Luis de, Governor, II, 175; 
portrait, 175; death, 182. 

Lasso de la Vega, Juan, Bishop, II, 17. 

Lawton, Gen. Henry W., leads advance 
against Spanish, IV, 112; Military Gov- 
ernor of Oriente, 139. 

Lazear, Camp, established, IV, 172. 

Lazear, Jesse W., hero and martyr in 
yellow fever campaign, IV, 172. 

ar a Francisco Rodriguez, Governor, 
, 310. 

Lee, Fitzhugh, Consul General at Havana, 
IV, 72; reports on “concentration” 
policy of Weyler, 86; asks for warship 
to protect Americans at Havana, 97; 
Maine sent, 98; commands troops at 
Havana, 121. 

Lee, Robert Edward, declines to join 
Lopez, IIT, 39. 

Legrand, Pedro, invades Cuba, I, 302. 

Leiva, Lopez, Secretary of Government, 


Lemus, Jose Morales, III, 333. 

Lendian, Evelio Rodriguez, 
sketch and portrait, IV, 162. 

Liberal Party, III, 306; triumphant 
through revolution, IV, 285; dissensions, 
303; conspiracy against election, 329. 

Liberty Loans, Cuban subscriptions to, 
Iv, 352. 

Lighthouse _ service, 
Menocal, IV, 168. 

Linares, Tomas de, first Rector of Uni- 
versity of Havana, II, 11. 

Lindsay, Forbes, quoted, II, 217. 

Linschoten, Jan H. van, historian, quoted, 


educator, 


under Mario G. 


Liquor, intoxicating, prohibited in 1780, 
II, 150 


Literary periodicals: El Habanero, I, 
321; El Plantel, 324; Cuban Review, 
325; Havana Review, 329. 

Literature, II, 245; early works, 252; 
poets, 274; great development of activity, 
III, 315 et seq. 

Little Inagua, I, 4. 

Llorente, Pedro, in Constitutional Conven- 
tion, IV, 188, 

Lobera, Juan de, commander of La 
Fuerza, I, 182; desperate defence against 
Sores, 185. 

Lolonois, pirate, I, 296. 

Long Island. See FERDINANDINA. | 

Lopez, Narciso, sketch and portrait, III, 
23; in Venezuela, 24; joins the Spanish 


375 


army, 26; marries and settles in Cuba, 
30; against the Carlists in Spain, 31; 
friend of Valdez, 31; offices and honors, 
33; plans Cuban revolution, 36; be- 
trayed and fugitive, 37; consults Jeffer- 
son Davis and Robert E. Lee, 38; first 
American expedition, 39; members of 
the party, 40; activity in Southern 
States, 43; expedition starts, 45; proc- 
lamation to his men, 46; lands at Car- 
denas, 49; lack of Cuban support, 54; 
reembarks, 56; lands at Key West, 58; 
arrested and tried, 60; second expedi- 
tion organized, 65; betrayed, 67; third 
expedition, 70; final expedition organ- 
ized, 91; lands in Cuba, 98; defeated 
and captured, 112; death, 114; results 
of his works, 116. 

etree , Gen., Governor at Santiago, II, 

Lorraine, Sir Lambton, III, 280. 

Los Rios, J. B. A. de, I, 310. . 

Lottery, National, established by Jose 
Miguel Gomez, IV, 310. 

Louisiana, Franco-Spanish contest over, 
II, 117; Ulloa sent from Cuba to take 
possession, 118; O'Reilly sent, 123; 
Uznaga sent, 126. 

Louverture, Toussaint, II, 186. 

Luaces, Joaquin Lorenzo, sketch and por- 
trait, III, 330. 

Ludlow, Gen. William, command and 
work at Havana, IV, 144. 

Lugo, Pedro Benitez de, Governor, I, 331. 

Luna y Sarmiento, Alvaro de, Governor, 


E . 

Luz y Caballero, José de la, “Father of 
the Cuban Revolution,” III, 322; great 
work for patriotic education, 323; Por- 
trait, frontispiece, Vol. IIL 

Luzan, Gabriel de, Governor, I, 236; 
controversy over La Fuerza, 237; feud 
with Quifiones, 241; unites with Qui- 
fhones to resist Drake, 243; energetic 
action, 246; tenure of office prolonged, 
250; end of term, 260 


Macaca, province of, I, 20. 

Maceo, José Antonio, proclaims Provi- 
sional Government, IV, 15; leader in 
War of Independence, 41; commands 
Division of Oriente, 43; defeats Campos, 
46; plans great campaign, 53; invades 
Pinar del Rio, 61; successful campaign, 
73; death, 74; portrait, facing 74. 

Maceo, Jose, IV, 41; marches through 
Cuba, 76. 

Machado, Eduard, treason of, ITI, 258. 

Machete, used in battle, IV, 57. 

Sareea James, on status of Cuba, III, 

Madriaga, Juan Ignacio, II, 59. 

Magoon, Charles E., Provisional Gov- 
ernor, IV, 281; his administration, 283; 
promotes public works, 286; takes cen- 
sus, 287; election law, 287; retires, 295. 

Mahy, Nicolas, Governor, I, 315. 

Mail service established, II, 107; under 
American occupation, IV, 168. 

Maine sent to Havana, IV, 98; destruc- 
tion of, 98; investigation, 100. 

Maldonado, Diego, I, 146. 

Mandeville, Sir John, I, 20. 

Mangon, identified with Mangi, I, 20. 


376 INDEX 


Manners and Customs, II, 229 et seq.; 
balls, 239; shopping, 242; relations of 
black and white races, 242; cafés, 243; 
early society, 248. 

Monosca, Juan Saenz, Bishop, I, 301. 

Manrique, Diego, Governor, II, 109. 

Manzaneda y Salines, Severino de, Gov- 
ernor, I, 320. 

Manzanillo, Declaration of Independence 
issued, III, 155. 

Maraveo Ponce de Leon, Gomez de, I, 
339. 

Marco Polo, I; 4, 20. 

Marcy, William L., policy toward Cuba, 
III, 136. Cn! 

Mar de la Nuestra Senora, I, 18. 

Mariguana. See GUANAHANT. 

Marin, Sabas, succeeds Campos in com- 
mand, IV, 63. 

Markham, Sir Clements, on Columbus's 
first landing, I, 12. 

Marmol, Donato, III, 173, 184. 

Marquez, Pedro Menendez, I, 206. 

Marriage law, reformed under Ameri- 
can occupation, IV, 152; controversy 
over, 153. 

Marti, Jose, portrait, frontispiece, Vol. 
IV; leader of War of Independence, IV, 
2; his career, 9; in New York, 11; or- 
ganizes Junta, 11; goes to Cuba, 15; 
death, 16; his war manifesto, 17; ful- 
filment of his ideals, 355. f 

Marti, José, Secretary of War, portrait, 
IV, 360. 

Marti, the pirate, II, 357. 

Martinez Campos. See Campos. 

Martinez, Dionisio de la Vega, Governor, 
II, 8; inscription on La Punta, 14. 

Martinez, Juan, I, 192. 

Martyr, Peter, I, 53. 

Maso, Bartolome, revolutionist, IV, 34; 
rebukes Spotorno, 35; President of 
Cuban Republic, 43; Vice President of 
Council, 48; President of Republic, 90; 
candidate for Vice President, 242; seeks 
Presidency, 243 

Mason, James M., U. S. Minister to 
France, III, 141. 

Masse, E. M., describes slave trade, II, 
202; rural life, 216; on Spanish policy 
toward Cuba, 227; social morals, 230. 

Matanzas, founded, I, 321; meaning of 
name, 321. 

Maura, Sr., proposes Cuban reforms, IV, 


McCullagh, John B., reorganizes Havana 
Police, IV, 150. : 
McKinley, William, President of United 
States, message of 1897 on Cuba, IV, 
87; declines European mediation, 103; 

message for war, 104. : 

Maza, Enrique, assaults Hugh S. Gibson, 

Mazariegos, Diego de, Governor, I, 191; 
a scandalous moralist, 193; defences 
against privateering, 193; takes charge 
of La Fuerza, 195; controversy with 
Governor of Florida, 196; replaced by 
Sandoval, 197. 

Medina, Fernando de, I, 111. 
Mendez-Capote, Fernando, Secretary of 
Sanitation, portrait, IV, 360. d 
Mendieta, Carlos, candidate for Vice 

President, IV, 328; rebels, 338. 


Mendive, Rafael Maria de, III, 328. 

Mendoza, Martin de, I, 204. 

Menendez, Pedro de Aviles, I, 199; com- 
mander of Spanish fleet, 200; clash with 
Osorio, 201; Governor of Cuba, 205; 
dealing with increasing enemies, 208; 
fortifies Havana, 209; recalled to Spain, 
213; conflict with Bishop Castillo, 226. 

Menocal, Aniceto G., portrait, IV, 50. 

Menocal, Mario G., Assistant Secretary 
of War, IV, 49; Chief of Police at 
Havana, 144, 150; in charge of Light- 
house Service, 168; candidate for Presi- 
dent, 290; slandered by Liberals, 291; 
elected President, 312; biography, 312; 
portrait, facing 312; view of birth- 
place, 313; Cabinet, 320; opinion of 
Cuba’s needs, 321; first message, 322; 
conflict with Congress, 323; important 
reforms, 324; suppresses rebellion, 327; 
candidate for reelection, 328; vigorous 
action against Gomez’s rebellion, 335; 
declines American aid, 337; escapes as- 
sassination, 339; reelection confirmed, 
341; clemency to traitors, 342; message 
on entering Great War, 346; fulfilment 
of Marti’s ideals, 355; estimate of his 
administration, 356; achievements for 
education, 357; health, 357; industry 
and commerce, 358; finance, 359; “from 
Velasquez to Menocal,’’ 365. 

Menocal, Senora, leadership of Cuban 
womanhood in Red Cross and other 
work, IV, 354; portrait, facing 352. 

Mercedes, Maria de las, quoted, II, 174; 
on slave insurrection, 368. 

Mesa Rafael, III, 174; patriotic works, 


Merlin, Countess de. See MERCEDES. 
Merrimac, sunk at Santiago, IV, 111. 
Mesa, Hernando de, first Bishop, I, 122. 


Mestre, José Manuel, sketch and portrait, 


Meza, Sr., Secretary of Public Instruction 
and Arts, IV, 297. 

Mexico, discovered and explored from 
Cuba, I, 87; designs upon Cuba, II, 
262; Cuban expedition against, 346; 
warned off by United States, III, 134; 
fall of Maximilian, 150. 

Milanes, José Jacinto, sketch, portraic 
and works, III, 324. 

Miles, Gen. Nelson A., prepares for in- 
vasion of Cuba, IV, 111. 

Mieands, Francisco, II, 156; with Bolivar, 
35. 

Miscegenation, II, 204. 

Molina, Francisco, I, 290. 

Monastic orders, I, 276. 

Monroe Doctrine, foreshadowed, II, 256; 
promulgated, 328. 

Monroe, James, interest in Cuba, II, 257; 
promulgates Doctrine, 328; portrait, 
3 


Monserrate Gate, Havana, picture, II, 
241 


Montalvo, Gabriel, Governor, I, 215; 
feud with Rojas family, 218; imvesti- 
gated and retired, 219; pleads for naval 
protection for Cuba, 220 

Montalvo, Lorenzo, II, 89. 

Montalvo, Rafael, Secretary of Public 
Works, urges resistance to revolution- 
ists, IV, 270. 


ee 


INDEX 


Montanes, Pedro Garcia, I, 292. 
Montano. See VELAsQUEZ, J. M. 
sae Garcia, Secretary of Treasury, IV, 


Montesino, Antonio, I, 78. 
Montiel, Vasquez de, naval commander, 


, 278. 
Montoro, Rafael, Representative in Cortes, 
308; spokesman of Autonomists, 

IV, 59; in Autonomist Cabinet, 95; 
candidate for Vice President, 290; ate 
tacked by Liberals, 291; biography, 
317; portrait, facing 320. 

Morales case, IV, 92. 

Swe Pedro de, commands at Santiago, 

2 

Morals, strangely mixed with piety and 
vice, II, 229. 

Morell, Pedro Augustino, Bishop, II, 53; 
controversy with Albemarle, 83; exiled, 
87; death, 113. 

Moreno, Andres, Secretary of Foreign Af- 
fairs, IV, 90. 

Moret law, abolishing slavery, III, 243. 

Morgan, Henry, plans raid on Havana, 
I, 297; later career, 303. 

Morro Castle, Havana, picture, facing I, 
180; site of battery, 180; tower built by 
Mazariegos, 196; fortified against Drake, 
249; planned by peo 261; be- 
sieged by British, I, 

Morro Castle, Santiago, ae I, 289; pic- 
ture, facing 298. 

Mucaras, I, 11. 

Muenster, geographer, I, 6. 

Mugeres Islands, I, 84. 

Munive, Andres de, I, 317. 

Murgina y Mena, A. M., I, 317. 

Music, early concerts at Havana, II, 239. 


Napra, Juan Alfonso de, I, 207. 

Nancy Globe, I, 6. 

Napoleon’s designs upon Cuba, II, 203. 

Naranjo, probable landing place ‘of Co- 
lumbus, I, 12. 

Narvaez, Panfilo de, portrait, I, 63; ar- 
rival in Cuba, 63; campaign against 
natives, 65; explores the island, 67; 
errand to Spain, 77; sent to Mexico to 
oppose Cortez, 98; secures appointment 
of Councillors for life, 111. 

Naval stations, U. S., in Cuba, IV, 255. 

Navarrete, quoted, I, 3, ize 

Navarro, Diego Jose, Governor, II, 141, 
150. 

tl Spanish, 
182, 225. 

Negroes, imported as slaves, I, 170; treat- 
ment of, 171; slaves and free, increasing 
numbers of, °229. See SLAVERY. 

New Orleans, anti-Spanish outbreak, III, 
126. 

New Spain. See Mexico. 

Newspapers: Gazeta, 1780, II, 157; Papel 
Periodico, 179; 246; publications in 
Paris, Madrid ‘and New York, 354; El 
Faro Industrial, Ill, 18; Diario de la 
Marina, 18; La Verdad, 18; La Voz de 
Cuba, 260; La Voz del Siglo, 232; La 
Revolucion, 333; El Siglo, 334; El 
Laborante, 335. 

Norsemen, American colonists, I, 7. 

Nougaret, Jean Baptiste, quoted, II, 26. 

Nufiez, Emilio, in Cuban Junta, IV, 12; 


in Cuban waters, III, 


377 


in war, 57; Civil Governor of Havana, 
179; head of Veterans’ Association, 
305; Secretary of Agriculture, 320; can- 
didate for Vice President, 328; election 
confirmed, 341. 

Nunez, Enrique, Secretary of Health and 
Charities, IV, 320. 


Ocampo, Sebastian de, circumnavigates 
Cuba, I, 54. 
O’Donnell, George Leopold, Governor, 


II, 365; his wife’s sordid intrigues, 365. 
Oglethorpe, Governor of Georgia, hostile 
to Spain, II, 24, 30. 
O'Hara, Theodore, with Lopez, III, 46. 
Ojeda, Alonzo de, ey 54; introduces 
Christianity to Cuba, 55. 
Ore Christopher de, sent to Mexico, I, 


én Richard, U. S. Secretary of State, 
attitude toward War of Independence, 


Oquendo, Antonio de, I, 281. 

Orejon y Gaston, Francisco Davila de, 
Governor, I, 301, 

O'Reilly, Alexandre, sent to occupy Louisi- 
ana, II, 123; ruthless rule, 1235. 

Orellano, Diego de, I, 86 

Ornofay, province of, I, 20. 

Ortiz, Bartholomew, alcalde mayor, I, 
146; retires, 151. 

Osorio, Garcia de Sandoval, Governor, I, 
197; conflict with Menendez, 199, 201; 
retired, 205; tried, 206. 

Osorio, Sancho Pardo, I, 207. 

Ostend Manifesto, III, 142. 

Ovando, Alfonso de Caceres, I, 214; re- 
vises law system, 233. 

Ovando, Nicolas de, I, 54. 


PaLMa, Tomas Estrada, head of Cuban 
Junta in New York, IV, 3; Provisional 
President of Cuban Republic, 15; Dele- 
gate at Large, 43; rejects anything short 
of independence, 71; candidate for 
Presidency, 241; his career, 241; elected 
President, 245; arrival in Cuba, 247; 
portrait, facing 248; receives transfer of 
government from General Wood, 248; 
Cabinet, 254; first message, 254; pros- 
perous administration, 259; non-partisan 
at first, 264; forced toward Conserva- 
tive party, 264: reelected, 266; refuses 
to believe insurrection impending, 266; 
tefuses to submit to blackmail, 268; 
betrayed by Congress, 269; acts too late, 
270; seeks American aid, 271; interview 
with W. H. Taft, 276; resigns Presi- 
dency, 280; estimate of character and 
work, 282; death, 284. 

Palma y Romay, Ramon, III, 327. 

Parra, Antonio, scientist, II, 252. 

Parra, Maso, revolutionist, IV, 30. 

Parties, political, in Cuba, IV, 59; origin 
and characteristics of Conservative and 
Liberal, 181, 261. 

Pasalodos, Damaso, Secretary to President, 
IV, 297. 

Pasamonte, Miguel, 
lumbus, I, 58 

Paz, Doma de, marries Juan de Avila, I, 
154. 

Paz, Pedro de, I, 109. 

Penalosa, Diego de, Governor, II, 31. 


intrigues against Co- 


378 


Penalver. See PENALOSA. 

Penalvers Luis, Bishop of New Orleans, 

“Peninsulars,”’ III, 152. 

Pensacola, settlement of, I, 328; seized by 
French, 342; recovered by Spanish, II, 
7; defended by Galvez, 146. 

Pereda, Gaspar Luis, Governor, I, 276. 

Perez, Diego, repels privateers, I, 179. 

Perez, Perico, revolutionist, IV, 15, 30, 78. 

Perez de Zambrana, Luisa, sketch and 
portrait, III, 328. 

Personal liberty restricted, III, 8. 

Peru, good wishes for Cuban revolution, 
III, 223. 

Philip II, King, appreciation of Cuba, 

260. 


Pieltain, Candido, Governor, III, 275. 
Pierce, Franklin, President of United 
States, policy toward Cuba, III, 136. 
Pina, Severo, Secretary of Finance, IV, 


48. 
Pinar del Rio, city founded, II, 


131; 

Maceo invades province, IV, 61; war 
in, 73. 

Pineyro, Enrique, III, 333; sketch and 


portrait, 334. : 
Pinto, Ramon, sketch and portrait, III, 


62. 

“Pirates of America,” I, 296. 

Pizarro, Francisco de, I, 54, 91. | 

Platt, Orville H., Senator, on relations of 
United States and Cuba, IV, 198; 
Amendment to Cuban Constitution, 199; 
Amendment adopted, 203; text of 
Amendment, 238. Der : 

Pococke, Sir George, expedition against 
Havana, II, 46. F 

Poey, Felipe, sketch and portrait, III, 
315, 


Point Lucrecia, I, 18. 

Polavieja, Gen., Governor, ITI, 314. ‘ 

Police, reorganized, II, 312; under Ameri- 
can occupation, IV, 150; police courts 
established, 171. 4 

Polk, James K., President of the United 
States, policy toward Cuba, III, 135. 

Polo y Bernabe, Spanish Minister at 
Washington, IV, 98. 

Ponce de Leon, in Cuba, I, 73; death, 
139. 

Ponce de Leon, of New York, in Cuban 
Junta, IV, 13. 2 

Pope, efforts to maintain peace, between 
United States and Spain, IV, 104. 

Porro, Cornelio, treason of, III, 257. 

Port Banes, I, 18. 

Port Nipe, I, 18. 

Port Nuevitas, I, 3. 

Portuguese settlers, I, 168. : 

Portuondo, Rafael, Secretary for Foreign 
Affairs, IV, 48; filibuster, 70. 

Prado y Portocasso, Juan, Governor, II, 
49; neglect of duty, 52; sentenced to 
degradation, 108. 

Praga, Francisco de, I, 282. 

Presidency, first candidates for, IV, 240; 
Tomas Estrada Palma elected, 245; José 
Miguel Gomez aspires to, 260; candi- 
dates in 1906, 265; Palma’s resignation, 
280; Jose Miguel Gomez elected, 290; 
fourth campaign, 312; Mario G. Meno- 
cal elected, 312; fifth campaign, 328; 
General Menocal reelected, 341. 


INDEX 


sete Gen., Spanish revolutionist, III, 


Printing, first press in Cuba, II, 245. 

Privateers, French ravage Cuba, I, 177; 
Havana and Santiago attacked, 178; 
Havana looted, 179; Jacques Sores, 183; 
Havana captured, 186; Santiago looted, 
193; French raids, 220, et seq. 

Proctor, Redfield, Senator, investigates and 
reports on condition of Cuba in War 
of Independence, IV, 87. 

Procurators, appointment of, I, 112. 

Protectorate, tripartite, refused by United 
States, IT, 261; III, 130, 133. 

Provincial governments organized, IV, 
179, confusion in, 292. 

Public Works, promoted by General 
Wood, IV, 166; by Magoon, 286. 

Puerto Grande. See GUANTANAMO. 

Puerto Principe, I, 18, 167. 

Punta, La, first fortification, I, 203; 
strengthened against Drake, 249; fort- 
ress planned by Antonelli, 261; pic- 
ture, IV, 33. 

Punta Lucrecia, I, 3. 

Punta Serafina, I, 22. 


QUEEN’s GarbENs, I, 20. 

Quero, Geronimo, I, 277. 

Quesada, Gonzalo de, Secretary of Cuban 
Jeuta, IV, 3; Minister to United States, 


Quesada, Manuel, sketch and portrait, 
III, 167; proclamation, 169; death, 262. 

Quexo, Juan de, I, 113. 

Quilez, J. M., Civil Governor of Pinar 
del Rio, IV, 179. 

Quinones, Diego Hernandez de, com- 
mander of fortifications at Havana, I, 
240; feud with Luzan, 241; unites with 
Luzan to resist Drake, 243. 

Quinones, Dona Leonora de, I, 117. 


Ras, Jesus, revolutionist, IV, 34, 42, 
Railroads, first in Cuba, II, 343. 
Raja, Vicente, Governor, I, 337. 


Ramirez, Alejandro, sketch and por- 
trait, EL 311. 
Ramirez, Miguel, Bishop, partisan of 


Guzman, I, 120; political activities and 
greed, 124. 
Ramos, Gregorio, I, 274, 
Ranzel, Diego, I, 295. 
Recio, R. Lopez, Civil 
Camaguey, IV, 180. 
Recio, Serafin, III, 86. 
Reciprocity, secured by Roosevelt for 
Cuba, IV, 256. 
“‘Reconcentrados,’’ mortality among, IV, 


Governor of 


86. 

Red Cross, Cuban activities, IV, 353. 

Redroban, Pedro de, I, 201. 

Reed, Walter, in yellow fever campaign, 
IV, 172. 

Reformists, Spanish, support Blanco’s 
Autonomist policy, IV, 97. 

Reggio, Andreas, II, 32. 

Reno, George, in War of Independence, 
IV, 12; running blockade, 21; por- 
trait, 21; services in Great War, 351. 

Renteria, Pedro de, partner of Las 
Casas, I, 75; opposes slavery, 76. 

Repartimiento, I, 70. 

Republic of Cuba: proclaimed and or- 


INDEX 


ganized, III, 157; first representative 
Assembly, 161; Constitution of 1868, 
164; first House of Representatives, 176; 
Judiciary, 177; legislation, 177; army, 
178; fails to secure recognition, 203; 
Government reorganized, 275; after 
Treaty of Zanjon, 301; reorganized in 
War of Independence, IV, 15; Maso 
chosen President, 43; Conventions of 
Yara and Najasa, 47; Constitution 
adopted, 47; Government reorganized, 
Cisneros President, 48; capital at Las 
Tunas, 56; removes to Cubitas, 72; ex- 
ercises functions of government, 72; re- 
organized in 1897, 90; after Spanish 
evacuation of island, 134; disbanded, 
135; Constitutional Convention called, 
185; Constitution completed, 192; rela- 
tions with United States, 195; Platt 
Amendment, 203; enters Great War, 
346. 

Revolutions: Rise of spirit, II, 268; in 
South America, 333; ‘‘Soles de Bolivar,”’ 
341; attempts to revolt, 344; ‘Black 
Eagle,’ 346; plans of Lopez, III, 36; 
Lopez's first invasion, 49; Aguero’s in- 
surrection, 72; comments of New York 
Herald, 89; Lopez's last expedition, 91; 
results of his work, 116; European in- 
terest, 125; beginning of Ten Years’ 
War, 155; end of Ten Years’ War, 299; 
insurrection renewed, 308, 318; War of 
Independence, IV, 1; Sartorius Broth- 
ers, 4; end of War of Independence, 
116; revolt against President Palma, 266; 
ultimatum, 278; government over- 
thrown, 280; Negro insurrection, 307; 
conspiracy against President Menocal, 
327; great treason of Jose Miguel 
Gomez, 332; Gomez captured, 337; 
wamings from United States Govern- 
ment, 338; revolutions denounced by 
United States, 343. 

Revolutionary party, Cuban, IV, 1, 11. 

Rey, Juan F. G., III, 40. 

Riano y Gamboa, Francisco, Governor, I, 
287. 


Ribera, Diego de, I, 206; work on La 
Fuerza, 209. 

Ricafort, Mariano, Governor, II, 347. 

Ricla, Conde de, Governor, II, 102; re- 
tires, 109. 

Rio de la Luna, I, 16. 

Rio de Mares, I, 16. 

Riva-Martiz, I, 279. 

Rivera, Juan Ruiz, 
succeeds Maceo, 79. 

Rivera, Ruiz, Secretary of Agriculture, 
Commerce and Industry, IV, 160. 

Roa, feud with Villalobos, I, 323. 

Rodas, Caballero de, Governor, III, 213; 
emancipation decree, 242. 

Rodney, Sir George, expedition to West 
Indies, II, 153. 

Rodriguez, Alejandro, 
IV, 266. 


filibuster, IV, 70; 


suppresses revolt, 


Rodriguez, Laureano, in Autonomist Cab- 
inet, IV, 95. 

Rojas, Alfonso de, I, 181. 

Rojas, Gomez de, banished, I, 193; Gov- 
ernor of La Fuerza, 217; rebuilds San- 
tiago, 258. = 

Rojas, Hernando de, expedition to Flor- 
ida, I, 196. 


379 


Rojas, Juan Bautista de, royal treas- 


urer, I, 218. 

Rojas, Juan de, aid to Lady Isabel de 
Soto, I, 145; commander at Havana, 183. 

Rojas, Manuel de, Governor, I, 4 
adopts policy of ‘‘Cuba for the Cu- 
bans,”’ 106; second Governorship, 121; 
dealings with Indians, 126; noble en- 
deavors frustrated, 130; resigns, 135; 
the King’s unique tribute to him, 135. 

Roldan, Francisco Dominguez, Secretary 
of Public Instruction, sketch and por- 
trait, IV, 357. 

Roldan, José Gonzalo, III, 328. 

Roloff, Carlos, revolutionist, IV, 45; Sec- 
retary of War, 48; filibuster, 70. 

Romano Key, I, 18. 

Romay,' Tomas, introduces vaccination, 
II, 192; portrait, facing 192. 

Roncali, Federico, Governor, II, 366; on 
Spanish interests in Cuba, 381. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, at San Juan Hill, 
IV, 113; portrait, 113; President of 
United States, on relations with Cuba, 
245; estimate of General Wood’s work 
in Cuba, 251; fight with Congress for 
Cuban reciprocity, 256; seeks to aid 
President Palma against revolutionists, 
275; letter to Quesada, 275. 

Root, Elihu, Secretary of War, on Cuban 
Constitution, IV, 194; on Cuban rela- 
tions with United States, 197; explains 
Platt Amendment, 201. 

Rowan, A. S., messenger to Oriente, IV, 


Rubalcava, Manuel Justo, II, 274. 


Rubens, Horatio, Counsel of Cuban 
Junta, IV, 3. 

Rubios, Palacios, I, 78. 

Ruiz, Joaquin, spy, IV, 91; death, 92. 


See ARANGUREN. 
Ruiz, Juan Fernandez, filibuster, IV, 70. 
Rum Cay. See Conception. 
Rural Guards, organized by General 
Wood, IV, 144; efficiency of, 301. 
Ruysch, geographer, I, 6. 


SAAVEDRA, Juan Esquiro, I, 278. 

Sabinal Key, I, 18. 

Saco, José Antonio, pioneer of Independ- 
ence, II, 378; portrait, facing 378; lit- 
erary and patriotic work, III, 325, 327. 

Sagasta, Praxedes, Spanish Premier, pro- 
poss Cuban reforms, IV, 6; resigns, 


Saint Augustine, expedition against, I, 


Saint Mery, M. de, search for tomb of 
Columbus, I, 34. 

Salamanca, Juan de, Governor, I, 295; 
promotes industries, 300. 

Salamanca y Negrete, Manuel, Governor, 
III, 314. 

Salaries, some early, I, 263. 

Salas, Indalacio, IV, 21. 

Salazar. See SoMERUELOS. 

Salcedo, Bishop, controversy with Gov- 
ernor Tejada, I, 262. 

Sama Point, I, 4. 

Samana. See GUANAHANI. 

Sampson, William T., Admiral, in Span- 
ish-American War, IV, 110; at San- 
tiago, 114; portrait, 115. 

Sanchez, Bartolome, makes plans for La 


380 INDEX 


Fuerza, I, 194; begins building, 195; 
feud with Mazariegos, 197. 

Sanchez, Bernabe, II, 345. 

Sec ees, founded by Velasquez, I, 


Sandoval, Garcia Osorio, Governor, I, 
197. See Osorio. 

Sanitation, undertaken by Guemez, II, 
18; vaccination introduced by Dr. 
Romay, 192; bad conditions, III, 313; 
General Wood at Santiago, IV, 142; 
meievewients under President Menocal, 


Sanguilly, Julio, fails in leading revolu- 
tion, IV, 29, 55. 

Sanguilly, Manuel, in Constitutional Con- 
vention, IV, 190. 

San Lazaro watchtower, picture, I, 155; 
fortified against Drake, 248. 

San Salvador. See GUANAHANI. 

sane Clara, Conde de, Governor, II, 194, 


Santa Cruz del Sur, I, 20. 

Santa Cruz, Francisco, I, 111. 

Santiago de Cuba, Columbus at, I, 19; 
founded by Velasquez, 68; second capi- 
tal of island, 69; seat of gold refining, 
80; site of cathedral, 123; condition in 
Angulo’s time, 166; looted by priva- 
teers, 193; fortified by Menendez, 203; 
raided and destroyed by French, 256; 
rebuilt by Gomez de Rojas, 258; capi- 
tal of Eastern District, 275; Morro Cas- 
tle built, 289; captured by British, 
299; attacked by Franquinay, 310; at- 
tacked by Admiral Vernon, II, 29; lit- 
erary activities, 169; great improve- 
ments made, 180; battles near in War 
of Independence, IV, 112; naval battle, 
114; General Wood’s administration, 
135; great work for sanitation, 142. 

Santiago, battle of, IV, 114. 

Santiago, sunset scene, facing III, 280. 

Santillan, Diego, Governor, I, 205. 

Santo Domingo. See HIsSPANIOLA. 

Sanudo, Luis, Governor, I, 336. 

Sarmiento, Diego de, Bishop, makes trou- 
ble, I, 149, 1582. 

Saunders, Romulus M., sounds Spain on 
purchase of Cuba, III, 135. 

Sartorius, Manuel and Ricardo, revolu- 
tionists, IV, 4. 

Savine, pe on British designs on 
Cuba, I I, 40. 

Schley, Winfield S., Admiral, in Spanish- 
American War, IV, 110; portrait, 110; 
at Santiago, 114. : 

Schoener’s globe, I, 5. 

Schools, backward condition of, II, 174, 
244, 312. See EpucaTion. 

Shafter, W. R., General. leads American 
army into Cuba, IV, 111. 

Shipbuilding at Havana, II, 8, 33, 113, 
300, 


Sickles, Daniel E., Minister to Spain, 
offers mediation, III, 217. 

Silva, Manuel, Secretary of Interior, IV, 
90 


Slave insurrection, II, 13; III, 367, et seq. 
Slavery, begun in Repartimiento system, 
I, 70; not sanctioned by King, 82; slave 
trading begun, 83; growth and regula- 
tion, 170; oppressive policy of Spain, 
266; the ‘‘Assiento,’’ II, 2; great growth 


of trade, 22; gross abuses, 202; de- 
scribed by Masse, 202; census of slaves, 
204; rise of emancipation movement, 
206; rights of slaves defined by King, 
210; African trade forbidden, 285; 
Negro census, 286; early records of 
trade, 288; Humboldt on, 288;  sta- 
tistics of trade, 289 et seq.; domestic 
relations of slaves, 292; dangers of sys- 
tem denounced, 320; official complicity 
in illegal trade, 366; slave insurrection, 
367; inhuman suppression by govern- 
ment, 374 et seq.; emancipation by rev- 
olution of 1868, 159; United States 
urges Spain to abolish slavery, 242; 
Rodas’s decrees, 242; Moret law, 243. 

Smith, Caleb, publishes book on West 
Indies, II, 37. 

Smuggling, II, 133. 

“Sociedad de Amigos,” TI, 169. 

“Sociedad Patriotica,’’ II, 166. 

“Speledad Patriotica y Economica,” II, 
178. 

Society of Progress, II, 78. 

Selec, José de, naval commander, II, 


“Soles de Bolivar,’’ II, 341; attempts to 
suppress, 343. 

Solorzano, Juan del Hoya, I, 337; II, 10. 

Someruelos, Marquis of, Governor, II, 
196, 301. 

Sores, Jacques, French raider, II, 183; 
attacks Havana, 184; captures city, 186. 

Soto, Antonio de, I, 202. 

Soto, Diego de, I, 109, 217. 

Soto, Hernando de, Governor and Adel- 
antado, I, 140; portrait, 140; arrival in 
Cuba, 141; tour of island, 142; makes 
Havana his home, 144; chiefly inter- 
ested in Florida, 144; sails for Florida, 
145; his fate in Mississippi, 147; trou- 
ble with Indians, 148. 

Soto, Lady Isabel de, I, 141; her vigil at 
La Fuerza, 147; death, 

Soto, Luis de, I, 141. 

Soulé, Pierre, Minister to Spain, III, 137; 
in cfiscrenions; 138; Ostend Manifesto, 

South Sea Company, II, 21, 201. 

Spain: Fiscal policy toward Cuba, I, 175; 
wars with France, 177; discriminations 
against Cuba, 266, 267; protests against 
South Sea Company, II, 22; course in 
American Revolution, 143; war with 
Great Britain, 151; attitude toward 
America, 159; peace with Great Britain, 
162; restrictive laws, 224; policy under 
Godoy, 265; decline of power, 273; 
seeks to pawn Cuba to Great Britain 
for loan, 330; protests to United States 
against Lopez’s expedition, III, 59; 
seeks British protection, 129; refuses 
to sell Cuba, 135; revolution against 
Bourbon dynasty, 145 et seq.; rejects 
suggestion of American mediation in 
Cuba, 219; seeks American mediation, 
293; strives to placate Cuba, IV, 5: 
crisis over Cuban affairs, 35; attitude 
toward War of Independence, 40; econ- 
siders Autonomy, 71; Cabinet crisis of 
1897, 88; proposes joint investigation 
of Maine disaster, 100; at war with 
United States, 106; makes Treaty of 
Paris, relinquishing Cuba, 118. 


INDEX 


‘Spanish-American War: causes of, IV, 
105; declared, 106; blockade of Cuban 
coast, 110; landing of American army 
in Cuba, 111; fighting near Santiago, 
112; fort at El Caney, picture, 112; San 
Juan Hill, battle, 113; San Juan Hill, 
picture of monument, 114; naval battle 
of Santiago, 115; peace negotiations, 
116; ‘‘Peace Tree,’”’ picture, 116; treaty 
of peace, 118. 

Spanish literature in XVI century, I, 360. 

Spotorno, Juan Bautista, seeks peace, re- 
buked by Maso, IV, 35. 

Steinhart, Frank, American consul, ad- 
vises President Palma to ask for Ameri- 
can aid, IV, 271; correspondence with 
State Department, 

Stock raising, early attention to, I, 173, 
224; development of, i 

Stokes, W. E. D., aids War of Independ- 
ence, IV, 14. 

Students, murder of by Volunteers, III, 
260. 

Suarez y Romero, Anselmo, III, 326. 

Sugar, industry begun under Velasquez, I, 
175, 224; growth of industry, 265; primi- 
tive methods, II, 222; growth, III, 3; 
great development under President Men- 
ocal, IV, 358. 

“Suma de Geografia,’’ of Enciso, I, 54. 

Sumana, Diego de, I, 111. 


Tacon, Miguel, Governor, II, 347; des- 
potic fury, 348; conflict with Lorenzo, 
349; public works, 355; fish market, 
357; melodramatic administration of 
justice, 359. 

Taft, William H., Secretary of War of 
United States, intervenes in revolution, 
IV, 272; arrives at Havana, 275; ne- 
gotiates with President Palma and the 
revolutionists, 276; portrait, 276; con- 
veys ultimatum of revolutionists to 
President Palma, 279; accepts Presi- 
dent Palma’s resignation, 280; pardons 
revolutionists, 280; unfortunate policy, 


la J] 

Tainan, Antillan stock, I, 8. 

Tamayo, Diego, Secretary of State, IV, 
159; Secretary of Government, 254. 

Tamayo, Rodrigo de, I, 126. 

Tariff, after British occupation, II, 106; 
reduction, 141; oppressive duties, III, 5; 
under American occupation, IV, 183. 

Taxation, revolt against, II, 197; “re- 
forms,’’ 342; oppressive burdens, III, 6; 
increase in Ten Years’ War, 207; eva- 
sion of, 312; under American jnterven- 
tion, IV, 151. 

Taylor, Hannis, 
Madrid, IV, 33. 

Tejada, Juan de, Governor, I, 261; 
works for Cuba, 262; resigns, 263. 

Teneza, Dr. Francisco, Protomedico, I, 
336, 


Ten Years’ War, III, 155 et seq.; first 
battles, 184; aid from United States, 
211; offers of American mediation, 217; 
rejected, 219; campaigns of destruction, 
22; losses reported, 290; end in Treaty 
of Zanjon, 299; losses, 304. 

Terry, Emilio, Secretary of Agriculture, 
IV, 254. 


American Minister at 


great 


381 


Theatres, first performance in Cuba, I, 
264; first theatre built, II, 130, 236. 

Thrasher, J. S., on census, II, 

Tines y Fuertes, Juan Antonio, Governor, 


Tobacco, early use, I, 9; culture pro- 
moted, 300; monopoly, 334; ‘Tobacco 
War,” 338; effects of monopoly, II, 221. 

Tobar, Numez, I, 141, 143. 

Tolon, Miguel de, III, 330. 

Toltecs, I, 7. 

Tomayo, Esteban, revolutionist, IV, 34. 

Torquemada, Garcia de, I, 239; investi- 
gates Luzan, 241. 

Torre, Marquis de la, Governor, II, 127; 
work for Havana, 129; death, 133. 

Torres Ayala, Laureano de, Governor, I, 
334; reappointed, 337. 

Torres, Gaspar de, Governor, I, 234; con- 
set with Rojas family, 235; absconds, 


Torres, Rodrigo de, naval commander, II, 
4 


Torriente, Cosimo de 
Government, IV, 320 

Toscanelli, I, 4. 

Treaty of Paris, IV, 118. 

oS Palacios, Felipe Jose de, Bishop, II, 

Tribune, New York, Pai revolution- 
ary leaders, III, 173 

Trinidad, founded by Velasquez, I, 68, 
168; great fire, II, 177. 

Trocha, begun by Campos, IV, 44; Wey- 
ler’s, 73. 

Troncoso, Bernardo, Governor, II, 168. 

Turnbull, David, British consul, Il, 364; 
complicity in slave insurrection, 372. 


la, Secretary of 


Usite, Juan de, Bishop, I, 123. 

Ulloa, Antonio de, sent to take posses- 
sion of Louisiana, II, 118; arbitrary 
conduct, 120. 

Union Constitutionalists, III, 306. 

United States, early relations with Cuba, 
a 2545 first suggestion of annexation, 

John Quincy Adams’s policy, 258; 

race s policy, 260; Clay’s policy, 261; 
representations to Colombia and Mex- 
ico, 262; Buchanan’s policy, 263; Mon- 
roe Doctrine, 328; consuls not admitted 
to Cuba, 330; Van Buren’s policy, 331; 
growth of commerce with Cuba, III, 22; 
President Taylor’s proclamation against 
filibustering, 41; course toward Lopez, 
60; attitude toward Cuban revolution- 
ists, 123; division of sentiment between 
North and South, 124; policy of Ed- 
ward Everett, 130; overtures for pur- 
chase of Cuba, 135; end of Civil War, 
151; new policy toward Cuba, 151; rec- 
ognition denied to’ revolution, 172; aid 
and sympathy given secretly, 195; Cu- 
ban appeals for recognition, 200; rec- 
ognition denied, 203; protests against 
Rodas’s decrees, 216; offers of media- 
tion, 217; rejected by Spain, 219; in- 
creasing interest and sympathy with 
revolutionists, 273; warning to Spanish 
Government, 291; effect of reciprocity 
upon Cuba, 313; attitude toward War 
of Independence, IV, 27, 70; Congress 
favors recognition, 70; tender of good 


382 ) INDEX 


offices, 71; President Cleveland’s mes- 
sage of 1896, 79; appropriation for re- 
lief of victims of ‘‘concentration’’ policy, 
86; President McKinley’s message of 
1897, 87; sensation at destruction of 
Maine, 99; declaration of war against 
Spain, 106; Treaty of Paris, 118; es- 
tablishment of first Government of In- 
tervention, 132; relations with Republic 
of Cuba, 195; protectorate to be re- 
tained, 196; Platt Amendment, 199; mis- 
chief-making intrigues, 200; naval sta- 
tions in Cuba, 255; reciprocity, 256; sec; 
ond Intervention, 281; warning to Jose 
Miguel Gomez, 305; asks settlement of 
claims, 308; Chargé d’ Affaires as- 
saulted, 308; supervision of Cuban leg- 
islation, 326; warning to revolutionists, 
339; attitude toward Gomez revolution, 
343. 

University of Havana, founded, II, 11. 

Unzaga, Luis de, Governor, II, 157. 

Urrutia, historian, quoted, I, 300. 

Urrutia, Sancho de, JE Su bte 

Utrecht, Treaty of, I, 326; begins new 
eras elt 

Uznaga, Luis de, sent to rule Louisiana, 
II, 126; reforms, 165. 


Vaca, Cabeza de, I, 140. 

Vadillo, Juan, declines to investigate 
Guzman, I, 118; temporary Governor, 
119; tremendous indictment of Guzman, 
120; retires after good work, 121; clash 
with Bishop Ramirez, 124. 

Valdes, historian, quoted, II, 175. 

we Gabriel de la Conception, III, 
32 


Valdes, Jeronimo, Bishop, I, 335. 

Valdes, Pedro de, Governor, I, 202, 272; 
retires, 276. 

Valdez, Geronimo, Governor, II, 364. 

Valdueza, Marquis de, I, 281. 

Valiente, José Pablo, II, 170, 180. 

Valiente, Juan Bautista, Governor of San- 
tiago, II, 180. 

Vallizo, Diego, I, 277. 

Valmaseda, Count, Governor, proclama- 
tion against revolution, III, 171, 270; 
recalled for barbarities, 273. 

Van Buren, Martin, on United States and 
Cuba, II, 331. 

Vandeval, Nicolas C., I, 331, 333. 

Varela, Felix, sketch and portrait, III, 
320; works, 321. 

Varnhagen, F. A. de, quoted, I, 2. 

Varona, Bernabe de, sketch and _ por- 
trait, III, 178. 

Varona, José Enrique, Secretary of Treas- 
ury, IV, 159; Vice President, 312; 
biography, 316; portrait, facing 316. 

Varona, Pepe Jerez, chief of secret serv- 
ice, IV, 268. 

Vasquez, Juan, I, 330. 

Vedado, view in, IV, 176. 

Vega, Pedro Guerra de la, I, 243; asks 
fugitives to aid in defence against 
Drake, 248. 

Velasco, Francisco de Aguero, II, 345. 

Velasco, Luis Vicente, defender of Morro 
against British, II, 58; signal valor, 61; 
death, 67 


pe Antonio, errand to Spain, I, 


Velasquez, Bernardino, I, 115. 

Velasquez, Diego, first Governor of Nae 
I, 59; portrait, 59; colonizes Cuba, 60; 
hostilities with natives, 61; explores the 
island, 67; marriage and’ bereavement, 
68; founds various towns, 68; begins 
Cuban commerce, 68; organizes govern- 
ment, 69; favored by King Ferdinand, 
73; appointed Adelantado, 74; seeks to 
rule Yucatan and Mexico, 85; recalls 
Grijalva, 88; quarrels with Cortez, 91; 
sends Cortez to explore Mexico, 92, 94; 
seeks to intercept and recall Cortez, 97: 
sends Narvaez to Mexico, 98; removed 
from office by Diego Columbus, 100; 
restored by King, 102; death and epi- 
taph, 103; posthumous arraignment by 
Altamarino, 107; convicted and con- 
demned, 108. 

Velasquez, Juan Montano, Governor, I, 


Velez, Garcia, Secretary of State, IV, 297. 
Velez y Herrera, Ramon, III, 324. 
Venegas, Francisco, Governor, I, 278. 
Vernon, Edward, Admiral, expedition to 
Darien, II, 27; invasion of Cuba, 29. 
Viamonte, Bitrian, Governor, I, 286. 
“are y Hinojosa, Diego de, Governor, I, 


vidoe loan, Cuban subscriptions to, IV, 


Villa. Clara, founded, I, 321. 
Villafana, attempts to assassinate Cortez, 


Villafane, Angelo de, Governor of Florida, 
controversy with Mazariegos, I, 196. 
Walalbe y Toledo, Diego de, Governor, ir, 


wilslebos; Governor, feud with Roa, I, 


Villalon, José Ramon, in Cuban Junta, 
an 13; Secretary of Public Works, 160, 


Villalon Park, scene in, IV, 247. 
Villanueva, Count de, II, 342 
Villapando, Bernardino de, Bishop, I, 


Villain, Pedro Alvarez de, Governor, I, 


Villaverde, Cirillo, III, 327. 

Villaverde, Juan de, Governor of San- 
tiago, I, 276. 

Villegas, Diaz de, Secretary of Treas- 
ury, IV, 297; resigns, 302. 

Villuendas, Enrique, in Constitutional 
Convention, IV, 188; secretary, 189. 
Virginius, capture of, III, 277; butchery 
of officers and crew, 278 et seq.; Brit- 
ish intervention, 280; list of passen- 
gers, 281; diplomatic negotiations over, 

283. 


Vives, Francisco, Governor, II, 317; des- 
potism, 317; expedition against Mexico, 
346. 

Viyuri, Luis, II, 197. 

Volunteers, organized, III, 152; murder 
Arango, 188; have Dulce recalled, 213; 
cause murder of Zenea, 252; increased 
activities, 260; murder of students, 261. 


War of Independence, IV, i, 8; circum- 


INDEX 


stances of beginning, 9; finances, 14; 
Republic of Cuba proclaimed, 15; atti- 
tude of Cuban people, 22; actual out- 
break, 29; martial law proclaimed, 30; 
Spanish forces in Cuba, 31; arrival and 
policy of Martinez Campos, 38; Gomez 
and Maceo begin great campaign, 53; 
Spanish defeated, and reenforced, 55; 
campaign of devastation, 60; entire 
island involved, 61; fall of Campos, 63; 
Weyler in command, 66; destruction by 
both sides, 68; losses, 90; entry of 
United States, 107; attitude of Cubans 
toward American intervention, 108; end 
of war, 116. 

Watling’s Island. See GuANAHANL 

Wax, development of industry, II, 132. 

oe panel, negotiations with Spain, 

> 126. 

Weyler y Nicolau, Valeriano, Governor, 
IV, 65; portrait, 66; harsh decree, 66; 
conquers Pinar del Rio, 83; ‘“‘concen- 
tration” policy, 85; recalled, 88. 

paneer, Gen. Joseph, at Santiago, IV, 
113, 115. 

White, Col. G. W., with Lopez, III, 40. 

wey, Henry, messenger to Gomez, IV, 


Americans in Cuba, 72; opposes send- 
ing Maine to Havana, 100 

Wittemeyer, Major, reports on Gomez rev- 
olution to Washington government, IV, 
336; offers President Menocal aid of 
United States, 337. 

Wood, General Leonard, at San Juan 
Hill, IV, 113; Military Governor of San- 
tiago, 135; his previous career, 140; 
unique responsibility and power, 141: 
dealing with pestilence, 142; organizes 
Rural Guards, 144; portrait, facing 158; 
Military Governor of Cuba, 158; well 
received by Cubans, 158; estimate of 
La Lucha, 158; his Cabinet, 159; com- 
ments on his appointments, 160; reor- 
ganization of school system, 161; pro- 
motes public works, 166; Dady contract 
dispute, 171; applies Finlay’s yellow 
fever theory with great success, 171; 
reform of jurisprudence, 177; organizes 
Provincial governments, 179; holds mu- 
nicipal elections, 180; promulgates elec- 
tion law, 181; calls Constitutional Con- 
vention, 185; calls for general election, 
240; his comments on election, 245; an- 
nounces end of American occupation, 
246; surrenders government of Cuba to 


383 


Cubans, 249; President Roosevelt’s esti- 
mate of his work, 251; view of one of 
his mountain roads, facing 358. 

Woodford, Stewart L., United States Min- 
ister to Spain, IV, 103; presents ulti- 
matum and departs, 106. 


Xacua, Gulf of, I, 
Ximenes, Cardinal a a gives Las 
Casas hearing on Cuba, I 


Yanez, Adolfo Saenz, Bache! of Agri- 
culture and Public Works, IV, 146. 

Yellow Fever, first invasion, II, 51; Dr. 
Finlay’s theory applied by General 
Wood, IV, 171; disease eliminated from 
island, 176. 

Yero, Eduardo, Secretary of Public In- 
struction, IV, 254. 

Ynestrosa, Juan de, I, 207. 

Yniguez, Bernardino, r 111. 

Yucatan, islands source of slave trade, I, 
83; explored by Cordova, $4. 

Yznaga, Jose Sanchez, III, 37. 


Zatpo, Carlos, Secretary of State, IV, 254. 

Zambrana, Ramon, III, 328. 

Zanjon, Treaty of, LI, 299. 

Zapata, Peninsula of, visited by Colum- 
bus, I, 22. 

Zarraga, Julian, filibuster, IV, 70. 

Zayas, Alfredo, secretary of Constitutional 
Convention, IV, 189; compact with Jos¢ 
Miguel Gomez, 265; spokesman of rev- 
olutionists against President Palma, 277; 
elected Vice President, 290; becomes 
Vice President, 297; sketch and portrait, 
300; quarrel with Gomez, 306; candidate 
for President, 328; hints at revolution, 
330. 

Zayas, Francisco, Lieutenant Governor, I, 
205; resigns, 206. 

Zayas, Francisco, in Autonomist Cabinet, 


Zayas, Juan B., killed in battle, IV, 78. 
Zayas, Lincoln de, in Cuban Junta, IV, 
12; Superintendent of Schools, 162. 
Zenea, Juan Clemente, sketch and por- 
trait, ITI, 252; murdered, 253; his works, 

332. 

Zequiera y Arango, Manuel, II, 274. 

Zipangu. See CIPaNnco. 

Zuazo, Alfonso de, appointed second Gov- 
ernor of Cuba, I, 100; dismissed by 
King, 102. 


Duke TTT Libraries 


wii u 


HI 


